Oregon Detects Its First Human Case of Bird Flu

A person holds a test tube labeled "Bird Flu," in this picture illustration, on Jan. 14, 2023. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo / Reuters

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Friday that an Oregon resident had tested positive for avian influenza, marking the state’s first human case of bird flu.

The infected individual was linked to a “commercial poultry operation” in Clackamas County, where the virus had been detected in 150,000 birds, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) said in a statement.

Clackamas County Public Health officer Dr. Sarah Present said the patient experienced mild illness and has fully recovered. The patient’s household contacts also received treatment to prevent further transmission.

“Clackamas County Public Health Division has been closely monitoring people exposed to the animal outbreak, which is how this case was identified,” Present said in the statement.

State health officials said that there has been no evidence of person-to-person transmission, and the risk of avian flu to the general public remains low.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture said it will monitor people exposed to infected animals and has provided personal protective equipment and training to affected farmworkers as safety measures.

“While we cannot prevent every case, we know that we are preventing many,” Dr. Dean Sidelinger, health officer and state epidemiologist at OHA, said in the statement.

This is the latest human case of bird flu in the United States, bringing the total of infected people this year to 52 across seven states as of Nov. 15. The virus has affected 508 dairy herds in 15 states, according to the CDC.

All of the human cases involved people exposed to infected animals, except for one case in Missouri reported in September, in which the CDC said it has not been able to identify a “clear source” of exposure.

The CDC stated in its situational update that it considers the current public health risk from bird flu to be low, but added that it is “watching the situation carefully” and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that avian influenza had been detected in a pig at a backyard farm in Crook County, Oregon, the first detection of the virus in swine in the country.

It stated that the infected pig was on a farm that houses a mix of poultry and livestock. The infected pig and four others on the property were euthanized to allow for further diagnostic analysis to test for the virus.

The USDA has assured that there is no concern about the safety of the nation’s pork supply, noting that the farm is a non-commercial operation and the animals were not intended for the commercial food supply.