The person had direct exposure to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza, Texas officials said Monday.
The case has alarmed disease trackers monitoring for the worst-case scenario: human-to-human transmission of the pathogen, which has happened infrequently worldwide and typically among family members engaged in work with animals.
There are several ways the virus could evolve, disease experts have said: It could remain primarily a threat to animal health and then recede, as it has in the past.
The strain has been confirmed in Michigan, and presumptive positive tests have also been reported from Idaho and New Mexico, federal officials said Friday.
Epidemiologists have been worried about the growing number of mammals infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza — commonly known as HPAI — around the world.
“While cases among humans in direct contact with infected animals are possible, this indicates that the current risk to the public remains low,” the agency statement said.
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