Bird flu infects another US dairy worker

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A third U.S. dairy worker tested positive for bird flu after exposure to infected cows, and was the first to suffer respiratory problems, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The infection was the second human case in Michigan, which has confirmed more cases of bird flu in dairy cattle than any other state. It also expands the symptoms for human cases, after the two workers who previously tested positive experienced only conjunctivitis, or pink eye, and recovered.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the latest case does not change its assessment that bird flu is a low risk to the general public.

Meanwhile, Michigan will soon begin testing dairy farm workers for signs of prior infection with avian flu, a county health official told Reuters.

"We have not seen signs of sustained human-to-human transmission," Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan's chief medical executive, said in a statement.

The ongoing outbreak of avian flu in dairy cattle has affected 67 herds in nine states since March, according to CDC data.

The third worker to test positive reported upper respiratory tract symptoms including cough without fever, and eye discomfort with watery discharge, the CDC said.

The patient was given antiviral treatment, is isolating at home, and the symptoms are resolving, the CDC said. Household contacts of the patient have not developed symptoms and are being monitored for illness, the agency added.

The worker was employed at a different farm than the previous human case Michigan reported on May 22, the state said.