The patient’s primary symptom was conjunctivitis; the individual is being treated with an antiviral drug and is recovering, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus has been identified as the same version of H5N1, an influenza subtype, that is circulating in North American birds.
The risk to the general public remains low, experts said. But these developments add a worrying dimension to an avian influenza outbreak that has already affected millions of birds and sea mammals worldwide.
Janet Buffer with the Food Policy Institute at George Washington University can discuss what bird flu is, how cows have been affected and the risk to the general public.
If you would like to schedule an interview with Janet Buffer, reach out to Katelyn Deckelbaum at Katelyn [dot] deckelbaum
gwu [dot] edu (Katelyn[dot]deckelbaum[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-