A hospitalized patient in Missouri was infected with bird flu despite having no known contact with dairy cows or other animals related to an ongoing outbreak, health officials said Friday.
This is the 14th person in the US to be affected bird flu since March, when the virus was discovered in cows, after infecting wild birds and mammals worldwide. Another person was infected in 2022.
In contrast, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that it was the first of these 14 “without a known occupational exposure to diseased or infected animals.”
The risk to the public remains low, the CDC said. No unusual flu activity has been detected in the United States, including in Missouri, officials said.
The latest case was confirmed after the person, an adult, was hospitalized on Aug. 22 with other medical conditions, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services officials said in a statement.
The person tested positive for influenza A, and CDC officials later confirmed it was bird flu. The person was given antiviral medication and has since recovered and gone home, health officials said.
It’s not clear whether the hospitalization was caused by the bird flu infection or the person’s existing health condition, said Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health.
The health authority did not release the person’s name, age or hometown. No close contacts of the person have been infected, CDC officials said.
The case raises questions about how the person was exposed to the virus. All previous US infections were among people who worked around cows and poultry.
Bird flu has been discovered in nearly 200 dairy herds in 14 states so far this year, but not in Missouri, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Avian influenza has also been found in commercial and backyard flocks and in wild birds. The person did not report drinking raw milk, which can contain live viruses, Cox said.
The investigation continues, officials say.
It is the first case detected through routine flu surveillance rather than through targeted efforts to identify people infected with bird flu through exposure to infected cows and poultry, officials said.