Avian Flu, First Human Case Without Contact With Animals: The US Announcement

In the USA first human case of avian influenza A (H5) without any contact with animals. The contagion – the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) report – was recorded in Missouri. The subject was hospitalized and recovered. The case was detected – according to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services – thanks to the influenza surveillance system, different from the one that the USA has implemented after the epidemic among cattle that only concerns workers in the sector.

“This is the 14th human case of H5 avian influenza in the United States, but the first that authorities say did not have contact with any type of animal,” the CDC report reads. “No H5 outbreaks have been reported in cattle in Missouri, but outbreaks of H5 have been reported in commercial and backyard poultry operations in 2024. In the past, H5N1 avian influenza has been detected in wild birds in that state.”