US warns of bird flu case without animal contact

Previously, all U.S. cases had occurred in farmworkers.

A person in Missouri became the first case in the US in testing positive for bird flu without having had known contact with infected animals, authorities reported Friday. The patient, An adult with other health conditions was hospitalized on August 22received antiviral treatment and was discharged after recovery.

This case marks the fourteenth in the country so far this year of infection by the virus H5known as bird flu, although it is the first in which no exposure to animals has been reported. Missouri state health officials said the virus has not been found in dairy cattle, although some cases have been detected in domestic and wild birds.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) She praised the rapid detection of the case through the national surveillance system and stressed the importance of continuing to investigate in order to prevent future infections. WHO specialist Maria Van Kerkhove, responsible for the prevention of pandemics and epidemics, stressed that no other infections have been reported among the patient’s contacts.

Minimum contagion

The H5 virus is common in wild and poultry birds, but has also been detected in mammals. Although the risk of transmission between humans is low, experts fear that the high circulation of the virus could facilitate a mutation that allows it to spread between people.