Authorities in Wisconsin say a person has been diagnosed with the state’s case of bird flu amid more than five dozen cases reported across the country.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, a person in Barron County, located in the northwest corner of the state, was the state’s first “presumptive human case” of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) this season.
There was no immediate update on the person’s condition.
According to the alert, the person came into contact with a flock of commercial poultry that were diagnosed with the virus. Other workers at the facility have been alerted to the case of bird flu, and have been provided materials on how to protect their health.
Officials emphasized that the “risk to the general public” remains low, and said that those who work with infected birds, poultry or cows are at much higher risk of contracting the illness.
The virus is highly contagious to poultry, and is often fatal to the birds, according to officials. The disease can be spread among humans who come into close contact with infected birds, or the feathers or droppings of infected animals.
In the U.S., there have been at least 61 confirmed cases according to the CDC. Most of those cases have been reported in California, with Washington and Colorado each reporting at least 10 cases.
Local
A person in Louisiana is reportedly the first person in the United States to be hospitalized due to severe illness, according to the Associated Press.
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