A Texas dairy farmer suffered the first reported case of bird flu transmitted to humans from farm animals.
The individual developed pink eye – with his eyeballs seen bleeding, according to a case report in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine.
Wow. NEJM just released this letter that provides most extensive detail so far about dairy worker in Texas who was infected with H5N1 bird flu. Eye so RED. Worker was not wearing eye or respiratory protection. pic.twitter.com/ZAA7ifHMoy
— LenaSun (@bylenasun) May 3, 2024
The Mirror reported:
The first image of a Texas dairy farmer who caught bird flu from a cow – with his eyeballs seen bleeding.
Thankfully, the man had “very mild” symptoms after contracting HSN1 virus, but the stark image shows how the virus caused bleeding on the surface of his eyeballs. This is because the blood vessels in his eyes popped.
Experts at the CDC say that they think he caught the virus from an infected cow in March. In an official case report, published on Friday, the CDC said that they found “strong evidence” through genetic data that pointed them to this conclusion.
This revelation shows the first sign of HSN1 virus spreading from mammals to humans. The World Health Organisation said that this is a “milestone” that is of “enormous concern.” The images of the patient, plus further details about his case, were published in a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
So far, nearly 900 people in 23 countries have been infected with the H5N1 strain of avian flu over the last 20 years. However, they were all linked to wild or kept birds.
