The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for expanded bird flu testing after a study suggested that dairy workers showed signs of asymptomatic infection.
Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director, told reporters that the guidance is to “keep workers safe.”
“The purpose of these actions is to keep workers safe, to limit the transmission of H5N1 to humans and reduce the possibility of the virus changing right now,” Shah said.
Shah noted that no evidence suggests the virus can spread from “person to person.”
“We want to keep that risk as low as where it is right now, one of the best ways to do that is to identify individuals who have been exposed through greater testing and provide them with Tamiflu to drive down the levels of virus in their body,” the principal deputy director explained.
The guidance follows a recent study that found 7% of dairy workers participating in the CDC survey showed “evidence of recent infection with HPAI A(H5) virus.”
The study involved 115 farmworkers in Michigan and Colorado, eight of whom had antibodies for bird flu. Four of the farmworkers with antibodies did not report previous illness.
“Some of the persons who did not report being ill might have experienced only very mild symptoms. This finding highlights the need to actively monitor exposed workers by assessing the presence of any mild symptoms and provide a safe environment that encourages reporting of even mild illness and allows for rapid treatment with antivirals to prevent progression to severe disease, without risk for repercussions in terms of job security and pay,” the CDC said.
“Some of the persons with antibodies to HPAI A(H5) virus reported illnesses before herds were identified, underscoring the need for early outreach to dairy workers and rapid identification of herds as through expanded herd testing and bulk milk testing programs,” the agency added.
Vaccine maker CSL Seqirus announced in September that it secured its fifth award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a bird flu vaccine. The multi-year award is worth $121.4 million.
The vaccine development will be part of the National Pre-Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Stockpile (NPIVS).
In July, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new project to advance the development of an mRNA vaccine targeting human avian influenza (H5N1). The initiative is led by Argentinian manufacturer Sinergium Biotech, which will utilize the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) mRNA Technology Transfer Programme.
The Biden administration also announced a $176 million dollar partnership with Moderna to develop a new mRNA flu vaccine in preparation for “future public health crises.”
