Missouri Warns about Deadly Flu Cases from Birds to Humans

There's now reason to be seriously concerned about recent cases of the bird flu as the state of Missouri has now issued a warning about this highly contagious sickness that has now been detected in a farm worker.

The Missouri Department of Health has issued an official health advisory today about the "highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus in the United States following exposure to presumably infected dairy cattle". A cattle worker in Texas has been confirmed to have contracted bird flu from livestock, but is reportedly making good progress on his recovery.

The concern about transmissions of bird flu to humans was also reported today by DNYUZ and The Daily Express.

There are now 7 confirmed cases of bird flu in livestock according to a map shared by the USDA. The case in Texas with the human who contracted bird flu is connected to this livestock outbreak.

The Missouri Department of Health still considers the bird flu danger to humans to be low, but they also said " people with job-related or recreational exposures to infected birds, cattle, or other animals are at higher risk of infection and should take appropriate
precautions".

They also state that the H5N1 virus should be of concern to those with "poultry and backyard flocks" as well.

According to numbers shared by the Missouri Department of Health, there have been 900 cases of bird flu since 1997 in dozens of countries with half of those cases resulting in death. But, the recent human cases have decreased dramatically so the hope is that the recent human infection in Texas is an exception and not a new rule.

Finally, the state of Missouri is advising the general public to avoid contact or being near any sick or deceased animals. See the full bulletin from the Missouri Department of Health for more details and potential updates.