Cow-Flu Remains Low Risk for People

During today's U.C. CDC Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity call, the presentation offered insights regarding the multi-year Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) (H5N1) virus outbreak in the United States.

As of July 16, 2024, the HAPI virus is widespread among wild birds and continues to cause outbreaks in poultry and spillover to mammals, including dairy cattle.

To date, three human cases of HPAI A(H5N1) virus infection have been identified in dairy farm workers in the U.S.

The CDC team wrote, 'The risk to the public from HPAI A(H5N1) viruses is low. However, people with job-related or recreational exposure to infected birds or animals, including dairy cattle, are at greater risk of HPAI A(H5N1) virus infection.

As of July 2024, the U.S. government has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in funding avian influenza vaccines and clinical candidates that could be deployed during a pandemic.