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This afternoon the State of Michigan announced a second H5 case in a farm worker - who was exposed at at different farm - who is reportedly recovering after reporting respiratory symptoms.
The severity is not mentioned, only that the patient was quickly provided with antivirals.
Michigan is reportedly aggressively monitoring dairy farm workers, which likely explains how this case was identified. Other states are conducting their own surveillance, some of which may not be as robust.
Additional influenza A (H5) case detected in Michigan
May 30, 2024
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is announcing an additional case of influenza A (H5) in a Michigan farmworker, who worked closely with influenza A (H5) positive cows. This worker was employed at a different farm than the case announced on May 22. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to highlight that the risk to the public remains low; this farm worker was quickly provided antivirals and is recovering from respiratory symptoms.
This virus has been associated with the ongoing multistate outbreak of influenza A (H5N1). As part of the ongoing response, state and local public health are closely monitoring for potential human cases, which can occur sporadically in individuals with close contact to infected animals. It is not unexpected that comprehensive testing is identifying sporadic human infections in farm workers.
“Michigan has led a swift public health response, and we have been tracking this situation closely since influenza A (H5N1) was detected in poultry and dairy herds in Michigan. Farmworkers who have been exposed to impacted animals have been asked to report even mild symptoms, and testing for the virus has been made available,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive.“With the first case in Michigan, eye symptoms occurred after a direct splash of infected milk to the eye. With this case, respiratory symptoms occurred after direct exposure to an infected cow. Neither individual was wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). This 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. We have not seen signs of sustained human-to-human transmission, and the current health risk to the general public remains low.”
Additional influenza A (H5) case detected in Michigan
