LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – Public health officials and researchers are working to learn more about a second human case of bird flu recently discovered in Michigan.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said a male farm worker is confirmed to have contracted highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, or H5N1. Although the patient’s specific location within the state was not released, officials said he has already recovered without the help of medication.
Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said the farm worker’s primary symptom was a “grainy feeling” in his eyes. The human contraction of a disease named after its aggressive spread among flocks of birds might come as a surprise to members of the public but not to Bagdasarian.
“We’ve tested a total of 35 individuals here in Michigan, and that’s more than any other state in the country, and when you look for something, you often find it,” she said.
While transmission from person to person is quite low, this most recent case of human infection, and another identified in Texas in March, have made it clear that passing the disease from animal to person is possible. Bagdasarian is warning farm workers who may be interacting with infected animals to take precautions.
“So, we do recommend both personal protective equipment as well as symptom monitoring and letting us know if anyone gets sick on a farm,” she told News 10. “Now, as for the general public, the risk remains low.”
Dr. Kim Dodd and her team of researchers at the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab are also closely tracking bird flu infections and its transmission to herds of dairy cattle. Dodd said that, like infected humans, cattle are also quickly rid of bird flu, but there is danger to the public when they are sick.
“The challenge is that as long as dairy cattle are infected, they’re making more virus,” she said.
Right now, Dodd’s research is focused on trying to understand how the disease was passed between birds and cows in the first place and identifying how spread can be prevented.
“We’re working closely with state and federal officials to quickly identify any animals that might be positive for the disease, then to perform the required surveillance to ensure that the virus isn’t spreading from that location and to perform testing for movement,” she said.
Both Dodd and Bagdasarian say it’s important that people only consume pasteurized dairy products. They say farmers who believe they or their livestock may be showing bird flu symptoms should contact the state health department.
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