A second human case of avian influenza tied to the current outbreak of the virus among cows was announced on Wednesday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
The infection, found in a Michigan farmworker with "regular exposure to livestock" infected with avian influenza, follows that of a dairy worker in Texas who tested positive for avian influenza earlier this year and experienced pink eye symptoms.
Public health experts say the virus' move from birds into mammals is worrisome due to the risk that the virus evolves to be capable of spreading among humans, but public health officials say the risk of a bird flu pandemic remain low.
"According to the Centers for Disease Control, the risk to the public remains low; the Michigan farmworker diagnosed with influenza A (H5) had mild symptoms and has recovered," the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a press release. "Information to date suggests this is a sporadic infection, with no associated ongoing spread person-to-person."
While a nasal swab from the person in Michigan tested negative for influenza, an eye swab was shipped to the CDC and tested positive for avian flu, the agency said in a statement. Similar to the Texas case, the Michigan patient only reported eye symptoms. the CDC is closely watching influenza surveillance systems, particularly in affected states, and there has been no sign of unusual influenza activity in people.
The government has conducted testing of milk and other dairy products at the retail level, but no viable H5N1 virus was detected in pasteurized milk.
Only one other case of avian influenza has been detected in the U.S. — in 2022, a Colorado worker who was involved with the culling of birds with suspected H5N1 bird flu tested positive for the virus and subsequently recovered.
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