Avian flu in the USA

First person to fall ill without contact with animals

According to the health authorities, a person in the USA has contracted bird flu for the first time without having been in contact with infected animals.

The adult with a previous illness was admitted to a hospital in the US state of Missouri on August 22. There he received antiviral medication against influenza, recovered and was discharged, the US health authorities (CDC) and the state announced on Friday.

No contact with animals
Because an initial test appeared abnormal, further tests were ordered at state and federal laboratories, which showed it was avian flu.

It is the 14th case of bird flu in the US this year and the first in which there is no information about the patient's contact with animals.

The Missouri Department of Health stated that no avian influenza infection had been reported in a dairy herd in the state.

Risk to population "remains low"
The H5N1 avian influenza virus was recently not only found in birds, but has increasingly spread to mammals in recent months, including dairy cattle in the USA.

The bird flu cases in humans raised fears of an impending pandemic. However, the CDC emphasized on Friday that the risk to the population "remains low".