Earlier this month, the CDC confirmed a unique human case of bird flu in Missouri. It was the first case to be reported in which the patient had no known contact with a sick or infected animal. It was the 14th case of bird flu in humans this year in the U.S. One in five St. Louis adults surveyed heard about it last week.
What is known so far?
On September 6th, CDC confirmed that avian influenza A(H5), or bird flu, was detected in a Missouri patient hospitalized for an underlying medical condition with chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and weakness. They were treated with antiviral flu medication, discharged, and recovered. A close household contact of the patient also became ill around the same time but was not tested; a third person, a healthcare worker, had mild symptoms but tested negative for flu. A 10-day follow-up period ended with no new cases found.
CDC stated that symptoms developed at the same time in the identified cases, suggesting a common exposure and not person-to-person transmission. The exposure has not been identified.
How are health officials responding?
The case was identified through the seasonal flu surveillance system, which protects the public by testing patient samples and learning which flu viruses are circulating in which communities. The CDC, Missouri health authorities, and other agencies such as USDA are collaborating on the bird flu case. They are conducting genetic sequencing of the virus that infected the patient; results so far show no increased risk of human-to-human transmission and confirm that the virus is treatable with current antiviral medications.
They also are increasing public education, especially for farm workers, on how to avoid contact with sick animals. Tracking efforts have been expanded using wastewater testing for early detection of the virus. Combined, these behind-the-scenes proactive measures help protect the public’s health.
Help keep St. Louis informed
Community organizations can help increase awareness by sharing the resources below on how to prevent H5N1 infections and educate people on avoiding contact with sick or dead animals.
Survey information
This week’s report is based on responses from a panel of 592 adult residents of St. Louis, MO (n = 143), Omaha, NE (n = 90), Texas (n = 98), Baltimore, MD (n = 124) and Colorado (n = 137) surveyed September 14-16, 2024. Explore these data and more at iHeardSTL.
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On September 6th, CDC confirmed that avian influenza A(H5), or bird flu, was detected in a Missouri patient. The patient was hospitalized but has since recovered. It’s the first case in which the patient had no known contact with an infected animal. Swipe through to learn about what we know so far.
#iHeardSTL #BirdFlu #AvianInfluenza
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