The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday advised states to help monitor H5N1 avian influenza by increasing testing of influenza A virus samples during the summer to help detect even rare cases of transmission of the virus to humans.
CDC Deputy Director Nirav Shah called for increased surveillance ahead of the usual seasonal decline in influenza activity and testing due to the ongoing H5N1 outbreak among poultry and dairy cows in the United States.
Avian influenza has been identified in dozens of dairy herds in nine states. A person from Texas who had contact with dairy cows became infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus and suffered from conjunctivitis.
Public health laboratories handle influenza samples from local jurisdictions and subtype them to identify them as a common virus or a new virus, such as H5N1.
In early May, the CDC met with state health officials and asked them to facilitate the distribution of protective equipment to farmworkers to prevent infection with bird flu.
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