An investigation into unexplained human H5N1 avian influenza infections in Missouri reveals four additional health care workers who developed symptoms of mild respiratory illness after caring for patients hospitalized in August. This was determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. reported on Friday.
It is unclear whether any of these people were actually infected with H5N1. They weren’t tested when they were sick. But the fact that they became ill after caring for the patient raises concerns about human-to-human transmission of the virus, a possibility that flu experts say requires further investigation. . Testing your blood for antibodies to H5N1 should answer your questions.
“CDC continues to closely monitor data available from influenza surveillance systems, particularly in affected states, and there are no signs of unusual influenza activity in the population, including in Missouri,” the agency said. This was stated in the latest information posted on the website.
The CDC continues to characterize the H5N1 outbreak as posing a “low risk” to the general public.
In the more than quarter century since the H5N1 avian influenza pandemic, there have been rare cases in which human-to-human transmission has probably occurred. However, no ongoing transmission chains involving multiple generations of cases have been detected.
This is the third time Missouri has disclosed a health care worker who came down with flu-like symptoms after treating an unnamed H5N1 patient. Lisa Cox, communications director for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, told STAT in an email that the infected person was hospitalized from Aug. 22 to Aug. 25.
To date, a total of seven people (one household member and six healthcare workers) who came into contact with confirmed cases have been confirmed to be infected. One of the healthcare workers tested negative for influenza while feeling ill.
The fact that the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is still finding H5N1 patients weeks after they have been discharged from the hospital raises concerns about the rigor of the investigations the state is conducting. are. The CDC cannot send investigators to a state unless assistance is requested, which is not the case.
“Public health credibility is really at risk here,” Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told STAT.
Osterholm, who served as Minnesota’s state epidemiologist for 15 years, is concerned about how long it will take Missouri to figure out who may have been infected if there was indeed an infection from the first patient. I’m worried about crabs.
Of the newly identified health care workers, one was exposed to patients before precautions were taken to prevent the spread of respiratory pathogens, and CDC says this situation could make this individual susceptible to other infections. They explained that they are at higher risk than exposed health care workers. patient.
Cox said blood samples have been taken from five health care workers who became ill after caring for patients due to the disruption caused by Hurricane Helen, and will be sent to the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters once safe transportation is secured. added. She said follow-up investigations with 94 healthcare workers who came into contact with the patient after precautions were taken are “nearing completion.”
It was previously revealed that a family contact of this person became ill on the same day as the patient. However, the second person could not be tested while ill. The CDC is currently studying blood samples from the second individual to look for antibodies to H5N1 influenza. Blood samples from patients with confirmed infections are also being analyzed.
The Missouri case is one of 14 confirmed in the United States this year, which has been hit by an outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cows that was first identified in late March.
As of Friday, 239 herds in 14 states had tested positive for H5N1, but this is believed to underestimate the true extent of the outbreak. Missouri is not among the states that have reported infections in dairy cows.
Many farmers refuse to test their animals, and few states enforce the issue. Exceptions include Colorado, which conducts bulk tank testing on dairy farms, and California, which conducts bulk tank testing on farms that are located near or interact with affected dairy farms. I am doing it. There have been 64 confirmed outbreaks in Colorado since the outbreak began. California, which announced its first positive herd in late August, has so far confirmed 41 affected farms.
This article has been updated with information from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
