New bird flu strain detected in Nevada dairy worker, CDC says

A new type of bird flu has been detected in a human dairy worker in Nevada.

This strain is different from the version that’s been spreading in herds since last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The case was apparently mild, as the Churchill County dairy worker was not hospitalized and has recovered, the Associated Press reported, citing health officials.

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The person mainly experienced eye redness and irritation, similar to most bird flu cases associated with dairy cows, according to the AP.

While the new bird flu strain, D1.1, has been reported in more than a dozen humans exposed to infected poultry, this is the first cow-to-human case.

In a press release addressing the situation, the Central Nevada Health District (CNHD) confirmed there is no evidence of this virus being spread from the infected individual to other people.

The CDC noted on its website that bird flu’s risk to the general public remains low.

But those who are in constant and close contact with cows, poultry and other animals are at a higher risk — and are encouraged to wear protective equipment and take necessary precautions.

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Jacob Glanville, PhD, CEO of Centivax in San Francisco, commented in a statement to Fox News Digital that within a week of the D1.1 strain being detected in Nevada cows, there was already a human infection.

“This isn’t the first D1.1 human infection: It has already resulted in an American death, a severe illness, and some other infections in five other states,” the expert said.

“The significance of this new infection is to reveal how quickly we go from cattle infections to human spillover.”

Those in constant and close contact with cows, poultry and other animals are encouraged to wear protective equipment. (iStock)

Glanville confirmed that the cattle infections of the D1.1 strain prove that it contains mammalian adaptive mutations. 

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“While we have yet to see human-to-human transmission, with such rapid progression from cattle to human cases, it may only be a matter of time before an H5N1 pandemic,” he said.

Sam Scarpino, director of AI and life sciences and professor of health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, also expressed to Fox News Digital the severity of this new case.

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“While it’s fortunate that this most recent human infection was mild, it highlights the serious nature of the ongoing outbreak in the US,” he told Fox News Digital. 

“We now have at least two distinct H5N1 strains (akin to variants if we were discussing COVID-19) that have infected dairy cattle, poultry, and humans. The H5N1 situation in the U.S. continues to get worse, not better.”

The Central Nevada Health District (CNHD) confirmed there is no evidence of the virus being spread from the infected individual to other people. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

Scarpino shared his approval of the recent choice of Dr. Gerald Parker to run the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy. 

“His appointment signals that the federal government is giving the H5N1 situation the attention it needs,” he said.

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“From the perspective of both the building agricultural costs and continued risk of human infection, we have to bring this H5N1 outbreak under control.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the CDC for further comment.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.