California is investigating a possible case of avian influenza in a dairy worker who had contact with infected dairy cattle, the state’s public health department said Thursday.
The spread of the virus among farms in 14 states and 13 industry employees this year alone worries scientists and federal authorities because of the risks to humans in the event of future spread.
The worker tested “presumptive positive” for avian influenza and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will conduct further testing, the California Department of Public Health said in a statement.
The person, who was not identified, had conjunctivitis as a symptom, the department said. He is receiving antiviral treatment and staying at home, he added.
According to the statement, the infected professional works on a dairy farm in the Central Valley, a place that has had an outbreak of the virus in livestock.
Cows on dairy farms in California, the main milk-producing state in the United States, began testing positive for avian influenza in late August: “The risk to the population remains low, although people interacting with animals infected are at greater risk” of contracting avian influenza,” the department said.
Source: Terra

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