Another Michigan dairy worker has been diagnosed with bird flu, the third human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, health officials said Thursday.
The patient reported a cough and eye discomfort, unlike the two workers, who had only eye symptoms, health officials said. The farmworker was quickly provided antivirals and is recovering from respiratory symptoms, Michigan health officials said. The risk to the public remains low, although farmworkers exposed to infected animals are at higher risk, health officials said.
The Michigan cases occurred on different farms and there are no signs of spread among people, officials said. “Risk depends on exposure, and in this case, the relevant exposure is to infected animals,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. In late March, a farmworker in Texas was diagnosed in what officials called the first known instance globally of a person catching this version of bird flu from a mammal.
Last week, Michigan officials announced the first case there. That worker caught bird flu developed eye symptoms after “a direct splash of infected milk to the eye,” Michigan health officials said in a statement. Neither of the Michigan workers was wearing face shield or other personal protective equipment, which “tells us that direct exposure to infected livestock poses a risk to humans, and that PPE is an important tool in preventing spread among individuals who work on dairy and poultry farms,” Dr.
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