Spread of HPAI closely monitored

Officials are closely monitoring the spread of HPAI, or highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has spread to at least five states.

Late last week, the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service of USDA confirmed cows in Michigan, Kansas and Texas had been sickened by the virus with likely positive test results in Idaho and New Mexico. This is the first time the disease has been found in dairy cattle, reports the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Monday a person exposed to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with HPAI had also caught the virus. The CDC says this was only the second time a human in the United States contracted HPAI A or H5N1. A person was sicked in Colorado back in 2022 after coming into contact with infected poultry.

The risk to the public amid the current outbreak remains low, according to government officials. It is rare for humans to transmit the disease to other people.