US confirms first human case of H5 bird flu

29081606 The United States identified, on Thursday () , the first known human case of H5 avian influenza in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the patient lives in Colorado and was involved in the slaughter of birds possibly contaminated with the H5N1 virus.

“This case does not change the human risk assessment for the general public, which the CDC considers low,” the agency said, through a statement. statement, according to Reuters.

The only symptom of the person who tested positive was fatigue for a few days. The CDC states that the patient, who was isolated and being treated with the antiviral Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), has now recovered.

The agency has been monitoring people exposed to H5N1 since the end of 2022. The virus has since been found in commercial and backyard birds in 29 states and in wild birds in 34 US states.

“The CDC tracked the health of more than 2.500 people with exposure to birds infected by the H5N1 virus and this is the only case found so far. Colorado have tested negative for H5 virus infection, but they are being retested out of an abundance of caution,” the CDC said. This is the second human case associated with the specific group of H5 viruses, which are currently prevalent, according to the CDC. The first took place in Great Britain, in December 2022.