Origin of human bird flu case in Missouri still unknown, U.S. CDC says
Adds context in paragraphs 7-12, bylines
By Leah Douglas and Julie Steenhuysen
WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) -Epidemiologists have not yet identified exactly how a person in Missouri contracted bird flu last week, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.
The human case was the 14th diagnosed in the U.S. this year. The other 13 cases were among farm workers and linked to bird flu outbreaks on poultry or dairy farms.
The infected individual was admitted to the hospital with symptoms including chest pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, said CDC principal deputy director Nirav Shah on a Thursday call with reporters.
It was unclear whether the patient's underlying conditions caused the symptoms or the flu.
The investigation into the origin of the infection is ongoing and the CDC has been unable to determine if the case was related to the current outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle, Shah said.
"Right now, evidence points to this being a one-off case," said Shah.
Missouri has not invited the CDC to conduct an on-site investigation but the CDC is working closely with state health officials on its response to the case, Shah said.
Shah also said the CDC will work with five commercial laboratory companies - Aegis, ARUP, Gingko BioWorks DNA.N, Labcorp LH.N, and Quest DGX.N - to develop their own diagnostic tests for public health outbreaks, including bird flu.
The USDA said eightdairy herds had been infected with bird flu in California since the first cattle case was identified there on Aug. 30. Bird flu has infected more than 200 dairy herds in 14 states since March, USDA data showed.
The California herds are quarantined and the state is expected to conduct bulk milk testing at dairies within a geographic zone around the affected farms, said Eric Deeble, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs at USDA.
The agency does not know how the virus arrived in California, Deeble said.
The CDC will launch its programto vaccinate farm workers against the seasonal flu in October, Shah said. The campaign is meant to prevent dual infection with bird flu and seasonal flu, which could lead to virus mutations.
Reporting by Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington and Julie Steenhuysen in Chigaco; Additional reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Richard Chang
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
