NY.- U.S. health officials announced two more cases of bird flu among farmworkers Friday, but also said a new study in Michigan indicated the virus is not causing asymptomatic infections in people.
Last month, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services launched a study of workers who had been around cows that contracted bird flu. Researchers took blood samples from 35 people.
One goal was to determine whether they were people who had not had symptoms but had traces of previous infections. None of the blood tests showed antibodies indicating that there had been such an infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.
Meanwhile, two more cases of bird flu have been reported linked to a Colorado poultry farm, bringing the total to six. It is the largest human outbreak of bird flu in U.S. history, and accounts for the majority of the 11 cases reported so far. Ten of those cases have been reported this year, all among farmworkers, who had mild symptoms.
An avian flu virus has been spreading around the world since 2020 among mammals such as dogs, cats, skunks, bears and even seals and porpoises. A few months ago, the virus known as H5N1 was detected in cattle in the United States, and is now circulating among herds in several states.
Health officials continue to say the threat to the public is low, and the virus has not spread from person to person. However, officials are keeping a close watch, as previous versions of the same virus have been deadly.
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