As Bird Flu Cases Rise, CDC Officials Report No Signs Of Human-To-Human Spread In Missouri

The New York Times (10/24, Mandavilli, Anthes) says, “A Missouri resident who shared a home with a patient hospitalized with bird flu in August was also infected with the virus, federal officials reported on Thursday.” However, “symptomatic health care workers who cared for the hospitalized patient were not infected, testing showed.” The news eased concerns “among researchers that the virus, H5N1, had gained the ability to spread more efficiently among people.” Still, human bird flu cases are rising in the US. So far, “there are 31 confirmed cases in the country, but experts have said the figure is likely to be an undercount.” Bloomberg (10/24, Suvarna, Subscription Publication) reports similarly that “US health officials didn’t find signs of human-to-human bird flu spread after testing a group of people in Missouri with suspicious symptoms.” Five healthcare “workers with potential symptoms who were exposed to a” patient with bird flu “didn’t show signs of infection with the H5N1 virus, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said.” The patient and the “household contact who also showed signs of possible infection may have been exposed to the same infected animal, officials said.” ABC News (10/24, Kekatos, Benadjaoud) reports, “Washington health officials reported four presumptive positive bird flu cases over the weekend.” Two of those “four cases have been confirmed, according to Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the” CDC. Meanwhile, “the number of cases in California rose to 15, which is the highest number in a single state so far.”