United States: Six people in California have contracted bird flu, confirmed by officials on Friday. All individuals work in the agricultural Central Valley and have had contact with infected dairy cattle.
The symptoms reported are mild, including eye redness or discharge, and none of the affected individuals have been hospitalized. Earlier in the week, a fourth infection was confirmed, and officials were awaiting lab results for two more possible cases. It’s important to stay informed and safe during this time.
As the cases are getting confirmed as the spread of bird is taking a turn. People were not taking it seriously, but this is a major area of concern.
As reported by the USA TODAY, the two workers had been in close proximity to infected cows in the region that is famous for its dairy production in California. By state, California is the largest producer of dairy milk.
The two workers had mild signs of the disease such as red eyes according to the California Department of Public Health. This symptom has been observed in other livestock workers other who contracted bird flu in the U.S. The press reports raised by the state health agency revealed that the two workers had no respiratory deficiencies after the accident. Neither were hospitalized.
Earlier on Thursday, authorities had isolated one employee suspected to have contracted the bird flu virus, after the test from the local laboratory came back positive. Confirmatory tests carried out by the CDC proved that the first worker had H5N1, and the second worker also tested positive to bird flu according to the federal agency on Thursday. The state had been probing the second worker, and provided samples to the CDC which tested the state’s second positive.
Both federal and state health officials, however, have continued to reassure the public that this is still a low risk to most people.
In total, 14 individuals have come down with bird flu in a few states since the spring, before the two California workers. Most people are farm workers who stayed in contact with contaminated cattle…
Bird flu outbreak has been noted on California dairy herds since late August. Through Tuesday, state officials have confirmed that 44 dairies have sick cows.