Knowledge USA: First human infected with bird flu without contact with animals

According to health authorities, a person in the USA has contracted bird flu for the first time without having been in contact with infected animals. The adult with a previous illness was admitted to a hospital in the US state of Missouri on August 22.

There he received antiviral medication against influenza, recovered and was discharged, the US health authorities (CDC) and the state announced on Friday.

Because an initial test appeared abnormal, further testing was ordered at state and federal labs, which revealed it was avian flu. It is the 14th bird flu case in the U.S. this year and the first in which there is no information about the patient's contact with animals.

Risk "remains low"

The Missouri Department of Health stated that no avian influenza infection has been reported in a dairy herd in the state. The H5N1 avian flu virus has not only been detected in birds, but has increasingly spread to mammals in recent months, including dairy cattle in the USA.

The bird flu cases in humans raised fears of an impending pandemic. However, the CDC emphasized on Friday that the risk to the population "remains low".

SDA