Reduced CDC Reporting on H5N1 Bird Flu: US Sees Declining Infection Rates

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has further reduced its public reporting on H5N1 bird flu this week as infection rates drop in the United States. As of July 7, the CDC is updating bird flu figures monthly instead of weekly. CDC officials report that recent months have seen a significant decline in new H5N1 cases among both people and animals. Since February 2024, there have been only six human cases in the US and no evidence of person-to-person transmission. The total number of US human infections since the earliest reports is 70, with most individuals experiencing mild symptoms, and just one confirmed fatality, according to CDC statements and summarized by Vax Before Travel and CIDRAP. Most cases have involved direct and unprotected contact with infected dairy cows or poultry. While human risk remains low, animal outbreaks also appear to be slowing. The US Department of Agriculture most recently detected an outbreak at a commercial game bird farm in Pennsylvania on July 2, impacting nearly 29,300 birds. The last confirmed case among dairy cattle was on June 24 in Arizona. The CDC will now direct people to USDA’s APHIS website for animal-related data as it phases out those updates from its main surveillance page. Globally, the bird flu story is more volatile. The World Health Organization and Cambodia’s health authorities reported an unusual spike of 11 new H5N1 human infections and six deaths in Cambodia between January and this month, with seven of those cases occurring in June alone. Most of these Cambodian cases are linked to direct exposure to sick or dead backyard poultry, and all ages have been affected. The country has now recorded 27 human cases since the virus re-emerged there in 2023, with a case fatality rate of approximately 44 percent. WHO continues to assess the overall global risk from H5N1 as low for the general population, but low to moderate for people with occupational exposure to birds. No H5N1 vaccines have been deployed to the US public, although several are approved for use if needed. Health authorities stress that while direct transmission between humans has not been observed, ongoing close monitoring is essential, especially among those working closely with poultry or livestock. Thank you for tuning in to this bird flu update. Check back next week for more. This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, visit QuietPlease.ai. For more http://www.quietplease.ai Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.