SALEM, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Health reported the state’s first probable human case of the H5N1 bird flu on Feb. 12. An adult male Mercer County farm worker who was in contact with deceased commercial poultry was infected with the virus, according to the department.
Ohio currently leads the country in bird flu detections with more than 60 flocks testing positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in little over 6 weeks. The outbreak began shortly after Christmas with an egg-laying flock in Darke County testing positive. Since then, more than 11.5 million birds in western Ohio have been culled to prevent the spread of the virus.
Mercer County has been especially hard hit, with 40 flocks representing 5.8 million birds affected.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the current risk of bird flu for the general public to be low, but people who have close contact with infected birds are at greater risk. People are urged to avoid direct contact with wild birds or sick or dead poultry or other animals.
There have been 68 confirmed cases and eight probable cases of bird flu in humans, mostly in workers who were in contact with infected dairy herds or poultry farms, although that could be a significant undercount, according to new research.
A study published Feb. 13 by the CDC found evidence that the official tally is likely a significant undercount because people who are infected by asymptomatic don’t seek medical care. CDC researchers went to the American Association of Bovine Practitioners veterinary conference last September in Columbus and recruited 150 vets from 46 states to fill out a questionnaire and have blood drawn.
Tests found three of the vets had evidence of antibodies to H5N1 infection. All three worked with dairy cattle, but not a herd that was known to be infected. One of the vets had worked with an infected poultry flock. None of the vets in the study said they suffered from bird flu symptoms, like conjunctivitis. This study echoes two other earlier studies that found similar results in dairy farm workers.
Farmers are advised to avoid handling sick birds or other animals and immediately report unusual signs of disease or unexpected deaths to the Ohio Poultry Association at 614-882-6111 or the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 614-728-6220 or after-hours at 888-456-3405.
