The U.S. Department of Agriculture has performed more than 17,000 tests for avian influenza on cattle, with 139 dairy herds throughout a dozen states. (Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Public health officials are still trying to determine how a Missouri resident contracted bird flu without having any contact with infected animals, but said Thursday there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission taking place in small enclaves or in a more widespread manner.
The Missouri case marked the 14th person to contract highly pathogenic avian influenza, or H5N1, this year amid ongoing outbreaks among poultry and dairy cattle, though it marks the first time someone without contact to those animals was diagnosed with the virus.
Nirav Shah, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on a call with reporters the “evidence points to this being a one-off case, and those do happen with novel influenza.”
“Thus far, we have not seen any evidence of unusual levels of influenza activity in the area where this individual resides,” Shah said during the hour-long briefing. “There have been no increases in the volume of visits to emergency departments for influenza and no increase in laboratory detections of influenza cases in Missouri more broadly.”