WASHINGTON – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Thursday that two out of four suspected cases of bird flu in Washington state have been confirmed.
Officials also shared that healthcare workers who cared for a person with bird flu in Missouri do not have the virus, following tests conducted on them.
So far, out of 31 confirmed human bird flu cases in the U.S., all except for the Missouri case were farm workers who had contact with sick birds or dairy cows. Experts say the general public is at low risk from bird flu.
The CDC expects more cases in Washington as they finish testing others who may also have the virus, according to Nirav Shah, the Principal Deputy Director of the CDC.
In Missouri, the CDC’s investigation found no evidence that the virus spreads between people. However, tests on a person living with the sick individual showed they might be infected. Officials think both individuals may have come into contact with a sick animal that hasn’t been identified yet.
The CDC has sent teams to California, Michigan, Colorado, and Washington to help with the response to the bird flu.
