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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that four more health care workers who cared for a hospitalized person with H5N1 bird flu developed respiratory symptoms after being exposed.
A health care worker who experienced the symptoms was given care before investigators believed they had high-risk contact with the patient, meaning the hospital took precautions such as wearing a mask when caring for the patient.
Three more employees were said to have low patient contact after the hospital requested precautionary measures.
None of these workers were tested when they developed symptoms, the CDC said reported Friday.
Before Friday's announcement, two other health care workers were diagnosed with symptoms after caring for this patient, bringing the total number of workers with symptoms to six.
To understand the scope of the investigation, 18 health care workers were identified as having high exposure to the patient, and 94 others were considered low-risk contacts, the CDC said.
The six health care workers who were ill did not have severe symptoms and have since recovered. An employee tested positive for influenza during their illness. The remaining five will have their blood tested for antibodies to the virus, which would indicate they had a previous H5N1 infection, the CDC added.
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It's been three weeks since the CDC and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced that a person who had no contact with animals contracted H5N1, the 14th human infection in the U.S. since April.
There were 13 other cases in farm workers who had direct contact with infected dairy cows and Chickens. The cause of the Missouri patient's infection, which is still under investigation, is being managed by the state with assistance from the CDC.
None of the people in the US It has been known to infect other people with confirmed H5N1. This is a concern because it suggests that the virus is changing in ways that make it easier to infect people.
In other updates, the CDC said it has developed a wastewater test that can discriminate H5 viruses from other types of influenza A. This will be especially important as the US enters flu season and influenza A is becoming more common in wastewater.
The CDC is reminding people:
- Not to touch Sick or dying animals, including wild and farm birds and cows.
- To remove beds and waste Animals suspected of having H5N1 influenza.
- Do not drink raw milk. Heating milk kills the virus, so pasteurized products are safe.
- To wear personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves When working with sick animals.
The agency said the immediate threat to the public from H5N1 bird flu remains low.