The first known human case of bird flu H5 in the United States has appeared in a person from Colorado, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Thursday.
The person tested positive for the avian influenza A(H5) virus and participated in the culling of poultry suspected of having the avian influenza H5N1, the CDC said in a statement.
This case does not change the assessment of human risk to the general public, which the CDC considers to be low,” the agency added.
The patient reported that his only symptom was fatigue for a few days and that he has since recovered, the CDC said, adding that the person was being isolated and treated with the flu antiviral drug oseltamivir.
H5N1 viruses have been found in U.S. commercial and backyard poultry in 29 states and in wild birds in 34 states since the CDC began monitoring illness among people exposed to the viruses in late 2021.
“The CDC has tracked the health of more than 2,500 people with exposures to birds infected with the H5N1 virus and this is the only case found to date. Others involved in the Colorado culling operation have given negative in tests for infection with the H5 virusesbut they are being retested out of an abundance of caution,” the CDC said.
Globally, this is the second human case associated with this specific group of H5 viruses, which is the currently predominant one, the CDC said. The first was registered in the United Kingdom in December 2021.