HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) – Connecticut health and agriculture official said the risk of avian flu in the state was low.
The state departments of public health and agriculture issued a joint news release on Monday once news broke that the highly pathogenic bird flu was reported in Texas over the weekend.
It was a person exposed to an infected dairy cow.
Officials from the state Department of Public Health and the Connecticut Department of Agriculture said there were no cases reported in any cattle or other livestock in Connecticut.
The patient in Texas, whom the departments said experienced eye inflammation as their only symptom and was clinically improving, was tested for flu late last week with confirmatory testing performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the weekend. The patient was treated with an antiviral drug called Oseltamivir, and the case did not change the risk to the general public, which remained low.
Additionally, Connecticut officials sought to stress that the state’s commercial milk supply was safe because of the pasteurization process required for interstate commerce.
According to CDC’s interim recommendations, people should avoid unprotected exposures to sick or dead animals including wild birds, poultry, other domesticated birds, and other wild or domesticated animals including cattle, as well as with animal carcasses, raw milk, feces, litter, or materials contaminated by birds or other animals with confirmed or suspected bird flu infection.
People should not prepare or eat uncooked or undercooked food or related uncooked food products, such as unpasteurized (raw) milk, or products made from raw milk, such as cheeses from animals with confirmed or suspected infection.
“This is an evolving situation in Texas,” said Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, DPH. “The current risk of infection from avian influenza to residents of Connecticut remains low. Because pasteurization kills pathogens, including avian influenza, in milk, residents of Connecticut should be reassured by the safety of drinking or eating pasteurized dairy products. While we have no evidence of human-to-human transmission at this time, we need to remain vigilant.”
Juthani added that while seasonal flu vaccines do not provide protection against the bird flu, the CDC has been working with state health departments to continue to monitor workers who may have been in contact with infected or potentially infected birds/animals and test those people who develop symptoms. The CDC also had guidance for clinicians on monitoring, testing, and antiviral treatment for patients with suspected or confirmed avian influenza A virus infections.
According to the CDC, the recent bird flu case was the second human case in the United States and the first linked to an exposure to cattle.
On March 25, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food & Drug Administration, and the CDC confirmed positive test results for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Texas and Kansas dairy herds.
Based on the information and research available, there was no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health, federal officials reiterated. Dairies are required to send only milk from healthy animals into processing for human consumption, and milk from affected animals is not entering the food supply. Pasteurization has continually proven to inactivate bacteria and viruses, like influenza, in milk.
“At this time, there are no confirmed cases of H5N1 in dairy cattle or other livestock in Connecticut,” said Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt, CT DoAg. “We are monitoring this situation as it evolves nationally and continue to amplify the information shared from federal partners on a local level. We encourage Connecticut producers to enhance their on-farm biosecurity measures for the health and safety of livestock and farm workers.”
In addition to enhancing biosecurity, producers were advised to test animals before necessary movements, minimize animal movements, and isolate sick cattle from the herd.
Hurlburt added that producers and veterinarians should report cases of sick cattle to State Animal Health Officials at 860-713-2505 or [email protected].
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