Seven people who had close contact with a bird flu patient in Missouri, US, developed symptoms of H5N1 bird flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although it is unclear how human-to-human transmission of the virus occurred. .

According to officials, the results of antibody blood tests will be back later this month — which could answer that question because most people with symptoms were not tested for avian influenza — which has so far killed 16 people across the United States. Has infected. All seven people have now recovered and it is not yet known whether any of them were infected with the virus or any other pathogen. However, the Missouri patient had no known contact with poultry or dairy cows. The unidentified patient was hospitalized last month due to underlying medical conditions.

Bird flu confirmed in patient in hospital

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said patients’ movements during their time in the hospital were retrospectively tracked and healthcare workers who were at risk were identified and were potentially at risk. Doctors also tested the patient for influenza and when the result came back positive, the person was prescribed Tamiflu.

After a positive flu result, healthcare workers started using more personal protective gear around the patient.

Dr Daskalakis said the positive bird flu result triggered an investigation – in which health officials discovered that more than 100 health workers at the hospital had interacted with him, six of whom had developed respiratory symptoms. The second close contact who developed symptoms of avian influenza was a household contact.

Of all the healthcare workers, 18 had high-risk interactions and hence, the rest of them interacted with the patient only after taking precautions.

Although the CDC does not rule out that those healthcare workers could be infected with bird flu — because the virus can spread through aerosols, particles smaller than droplets that can linger in the air for long periods of time — it is still not confirmed. Is.

Unanswered questions remain about the spread of the virus

Officials are still concerned about some unanswered questions about how those who became ill got the virus, as it is still unclear when symptoms began in health care workers — the day they came into contact with the patients, or several days later. .

according to cleveland clinicUsually, after coming in contact with the virus, you may have symptoms like sore throat, fever, back and muscle pain, cold and cough within 3-5 days. And depending on when symptoms began, it’s possible that workers could become sick with a different virus, such as COVID-19.

So far, the CDC says the H5N1 bird flu outbreak among dairy cows has infected 254 herds in 14 states. Earlier this week, two cases of the virus in humans were reported from dairy workers in California. Apart from the Missouri patient, all other human cases have occurred in dairy or poultry workers.

Get the latest news live on Times Now with breaking news and top headlines from around the world.