USA: Fourth person sickened after contact with dairy cows.

A woman in Colorado has had close contact with dairy cows on a dairy farm. She shows only mild symptoms. The US Health Commission has called for precautionary measures.

For the fourth time in a few months, a person has contracted bird flu in the US after coming into contact with infected dairy cows – this time in the state of Colorado. As in previous cases, the woman worked on a dairy farm and was exposed to cows where the H5N1 virus was detected, the CDC announced Wednesday.

In April, the first case of bird flu was reported in a dairy worker in Texas, and two more cases were reported in Michigan. The patient in Colorado had only mild symptoms of bird flu in his eyes and was given antiviral medication. She has since recovered, they said. However, the CDC reiterated that farm workers who come into contact with infected cows need to take precautions. For the Colorado case, “further genetic analysis” is being conducted to identify possible viral variants that “may change the agency's risk assessment” for the population.

Fear of an impending pandemic

The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread to mammals, including dairy cows, in the United States in recent months. Large numbers of cows are affected in several US states; The epidemic was detected in March.

Many have already been infected, raising fears of an impending pandemic. Considering the spread of H5N1 in the United States, Berlin Charitt's chief virologist Christian Drosten described the bird flu virus as the trigger for the coming pandemic. (APA/AFP)