CDC Confirms Human Case of Bird Flu in Texas—Here's What We Know So Far (2024)

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed a human case of avian influenza, or bird flu, in Texas.
  • The infected person, who reportedly had exposure to dairy cattle presumed to have the bird flu virus, presented with eye redness and is currently recovering.
  • Though the risk to the general U.S. population is low, people who have contact with potentially infected animals are at an increased risk.

A dairy worker in Texas has tested positive for avian influenza, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed Monday.

The announcement comes just a week after the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) first announced avian flu outbreaks in certain dairy cow herds in Texas.

It’s uncommon for humans to catch the H5N1 subtype avian influenza—also known as H5N1 bird flu—and the CDC said this case is only the second one reported in the U.S. The first case was in Colorado in 2022.

The H5N1 bird flu is often found in wild bird populations, and sick birds can sometimes pass the virus to livestock or other mammals.

In this most recent case, the person in Texas likely became infected after coming in close contact with sick cattle, health officials said.

The case is relatively mild; the CDC said the patient has eye redness (conjunctivitis) but has no other symptoms. The person is being treated with an antiviral for flu, and is isolating.

“This infection does not change the H5N1 bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public, which CDC considers to be low,” the agency said in a press release. It acknowledged, however, that people who come into more frequent contact with possibly infected birds or other animals have a higher risk.

Since 2022, bird flu has been detected in wild, commercial, and hobbyist bird flocks—in total, over 82 million birds have been affected across 48 states and 512 counties. These outbreaks can cause issues for farmers—on Tuesday, Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., the country’s largest egg producer and distributor, culled nearly 2 million hens after an outbreak of avian flu at one of its facilities.

The USDA also found herds of dairy cows testing positive for bird flu in Kansas, Texas, Michigan, and New Mexico. It’s assuming a herd in Idaho will test positive, too.

“That worries me, because humans interact pretty closely with dairy cattle,” said Jill Foster, MD, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “You’ve got these dairy cows now that are infected, and people in the barn [are] pretty close with the dairy cows…I think that there’s probably going to be more spread to humans.”

Here’s what to know about bird flu, how it spreads between animals and humans, and what this infection means for public health.

CDC Confirms Human Case of Bird Flu in Texas—Here's What We Know So Far (1)

This particular type of avian flu—H5N1—is one of many different subtypes of influenza A. It’s “still the same influenza that humans get,” but the naming refers to slight differences in proteins, Foster told Health.

Certain types of influenza A can lead to pandemics, such as the H1N1 “swine flu” in 2009 and the H1N1 “Spanish flu” in 1918 (which was later determined to be an “avian-like” virus.)

This is what infectious disease experts have feared happening since this H5N1 virus started causing outbreaks among wild birds and poultry in late 2021, Foster explained.

Luckily, however, this current strain of bird flu doesn’t seem to be mutating and making jumps into human populations in the same way as other problematic viruses, she said.

“[The bird flu] seems to be something that just simmers and spreads quite easily. But it doesn’t seem to be one that changes a lot, the way that COVID [does],” said Foster. “Bird flu has been around for a couple of years, but has stayed mostly in the birds.”

Though it can spread easily between birds and other animals, the H5N1 flu virus does not seem to be very efficient at transmitting between animals and humans or from human to human, Foster added. Whereas increasing COVID infections provided more opportunities for the virus to mutate and better evade our immune systems, the same cannot be said for H5N1, at least for now.

In fact, limited spread between humans hasn’t been reported since 2007, and there’s no evidence that the bird flu could have sustained transmission in human populations.

However, when people do get sick with bird flu, it can be a cause for concern. Some people are asymptomatic or have mild infections, where they’ll experience conjunctivitis or flu-like upper respiratory symptoms. But others will have more serious cases that can lead to pneumonia, fever, body aches, shortness of breath, and in very rare cases, diarrhea, nausea, or seizures.

Since 2021, hospitalizations linked to various strains of bird flu have been reported in China and Cambodia, and China has reported over a dozen deaths.

People who get sick with bird flu can be treated with the antiviral Tamiflu (oseltamivir), which works against influenza A.

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How Might Bird Flu Affect Your Health?

Because the risk to the general public in connection with this confirmed bird flu case is low, the average person doesn’t need to be too worried about contracting the H5N1 virus.

“Human infection based on close occupational exposure to a sick animal is of course important to know about, but is also very different than the case of human-to-human transmission, which would be a concern for public health,” Sarah Hamer, PhD, DVM, director of the Schubot Center for Avian Health and professor of epidemiology at the Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, told Health.

However, those who may be coming into contact with sick poultry or dairy cows could be seeing a higher risk. “As soon as you start getting cases, you’re going to have more spread,” Foster said.

Because of this, the CDC recommends anyone who could be coming into contact with ill or dead animals use proper personal protective equipment (PPE), including vented safety goggles, disposable gloves, boots, masks, disposable coveralls, and a head covering.

“PPE is a big one. And then it’s just re-emphasizing things like proper hand hygiene, washing your hands frequently, if you’re not feeling well, staying home,” said Mike Kleinhenz, DVM, PhD, clinical associate professor of dairy cattle production at Texas A&M University School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “Just reinforcing some of those good hygiene practices is important for dairy farmers to do—for their employees and for themselves.”

As for where the average person comes into contact with dairy—the grocery store—there’s also little cause for concern.

There’s no risk of people accidentally getting bird flu from consuming cow’s milk or other dairy products, so long as it’s pasteurized, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said. That process is able to effectively kill viruses such as influenza.

And though transmission among cows is something experts are monitoring, for now, there’s no evidence that bird flu could lead to any major disruptions in the U.S. dairy market, Kleinhenz told Health.

“From what we’re seeing on farms that are affected by this, [it’s] a small percentage of the cows that are actually becoming infected, and having to have their milk diverted from the saleable pool,” he said. “For the overall milk supply, we don’t expect to have shortages.”

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CDC Confirms Human Case of Bird Flu in Texas—Here's What We Know So Far (2024)

FAQs

CDC Confirms Human Case of Bird Flu in Texas—Here's What We Know So Far? ›

On April 1, 2024, Texas reported a human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus (H5N1 bird flu) after confirmation by CDC. This is the first time this virus has been found in a cow and the second human case of H5N1 bird flu reported in the United States.

Is the bird flu going to humans? ›

A worker on a dairy farm in Texas tested positive for the avian flu, only the second case of a person in the United States who has contracted the H5N1 influenza strain. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the person was diagnosed with the H5N1 virus and was recovering with mild symptoms.

Where is the bird flu in Texas? ›

Texas' commissioner of agriculture, Sid Miller, estimated that the syndrome was present in 40% of the dairy herds in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle in February and March. That would mean that thousands of cows were sick with avian flu across the region, and many tens of thousands more, at a minimum, were exposed.

Does bird flu spread by eating chicken? ›

There is no evidence that people can get bird flu from food that's been properly prepared and cooked, and it is safe to eat eggs, chicken and beef, and drink pasteurized milk, the experts say. "We have not seen cases that have been from ingesting animal products or animals that may have been infected," says Babcock.

Can you get bird flu from eggs? ›

According to May, it's raw or undercooked eggs that could pose a problem since the virus may be able to survive within the yolk. “As for milk and dairy, we're in great shape there thanks to pasteurization,” she said. “That heating process is more than enough to neutralize any lingering bird flu virus.”

How does a human get bird flu? ›

Humans can have contact with avian flu virus when a person touches a surface with virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. The virus can also be inhaled from droplets or dust in the air. The spread of avian flu virus from one infected person to another is very rare.

How do you treat bird flu in humans? ›

In general, treatment with the antiviral medicine oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) may make the disease less severe. For the medicine to work, you need to start taking it within 48 hours after your symptoms start.

Where is bird flu most common? ›

Usually bird flu virus is not passed from birds to people. But since 1997, some people have become sick with this serious, deadly kind of bird flu. Most of these infections have been in Asian countries among people who have had close contact with birds raised on farms.

Can dogs get bird flu? ›

If your domestic animals (e.g., cats or dogs) go outside and could potentially eat or be exposed to sick or dead birds infected with bird flu viruses, or an environment contaminated with bird flu virus, they could become infected with bird flu.

Where has bird flu been found? ›

In the United States, since 2022, USDA APHIS has reported HPAI A(H5N1) virus detections in more than 200 mammals. Most recently in the United States, HPAI A(H5N1) bird flu has been found in goats and cattle.

What happens to human if they eat chicken with bird flu? ›

No human bird flu infections have been reported from proper handling of poultry meat or from eating properly cooked poultry or poultry products.

How many people have died from the bird flu? ›

To date, a total of 1568 laboratory-confirmed human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, including 616 fatal cases (CFR: 39%), have been reported to WHO since early 2013. The last case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) reported to WHO in the Western Pacific Region was in 2019.

Can you get bird flu from eating chicken or eggs? ›

The CDC says the likelihood of someone getting bird flu by eating contaminated eggs is very low, and that a person cannot contract it from eggs that are cooked and stored properly.

Can you get bird flu from touching a bird egg? ›

It is not a blood-borne pathogen; therefore, handling eggs poses a low risk for infection.

Is swine flu and bird flu the same thing? ›

In some ways the ecological trajectories of swine flu and bird flu were similar. But whereas H1N1 was mostly at home in pigs, H5N1 has been most at home in birds, which gave it birth. The year before the 1997 Hong Kong outbreak, H5N1 was isolated from a flock of sick geese in Guangdong Province, China.

Is type A flu the same as bird flu? ›

Avian influenza or bird flu refers to the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses. These viruses naturally spread among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.

Should we be worried about bird flu? ›

The risk is relatively low at the moment. Currently, there's no evidence of the avian flu spreading from person to person, and only two cases have been reported in the U.S. so far. The first case dates back to 2022 and the second involves a Texas dairy farm worker.

How many people have died from bird flu? ›

To date, a total of 1568 laboratory-confirmed human infections with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, including 616 fatal cases (CFR: 39%), have been reported to WHO since early 2013. The last case of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) reported to WHO in the Western Pacific Region was in 2019.

Can you get bird flu from wild birds? ›

The wide geographic spread of A(H5N1) viruses in wild birds, poultry, and some other mammals could create additional opportunities for people to be exposed to these viruses, particularly through direct or close contact with infected birds or animals.

Is bird flu still active in us? ›

Garcia: Well, there's still only one person in the U.S. known to have tested positive for H5N1, but that virus has continued to spread among cattle.

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