Key Points
Initially detected by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, it is the first known case of human bird flu in the country with no known exposure to a sick or infected animal..
The patients specimen was then sent to the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory, which determined that it didnt match the currently circulating seasonal flu viruses...
Missouris health department says there has been no increase in emergency room visits for flu and no increase in lab-confirmed human flu cases in the state..
Shah says the CDCs investigation is also looking into the use of bird feeders, recent yard work, gardening, and lawn mowing.. Stephen Morse, an epidemiologist and influenza researcher at Columbia University, says that this case being identified underscores the importance of the countrys influenza surveillance..
But the fact that this case was found fortuitously and took several weeks to identify shows that our surveillance system still needs to be more agile and systematic, he says.. The US has limited capacity for bird flu testing, but that could soon get a boost..
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