Wyoming Reports First Human Case of Bird Flu

February 15, 2025 TruthUSA

A resident of Wyoming has been hospitalized due to bird flu, marking the state’s inaugural human case and the third hospitalization of its kind in the United States.

On Friday, U.S. health officials reported that Wyoming has confirmed its first human case of the H5N1 bird flu, making it the third known hospitalization related to the avian influenza virus in the nation.

According to the Wyoming Department of Health announced on February 14, a woman from Platte County tested positive for the virus and is currently receiving treatment at a healthcare facility in Colorado.

Dr. Alexia Harrist, Wyoming’s state health officer, emphasized in a statement that the hospitalized woman had an underlying condition that increased her susceptibility to illness and that she likely contacted the virus through direct interaction with an infected poultry flock at her residence.

“While this is a significant event as bird flu activity is tracked in Wyoming and throughout the country, we do not believe it poses a substantial risk for the majority of Wyoming residents,” Harrist noted.

Since last April, nearly 70 individuals have been infected by bird flu in the United States, resulting in one death. Most of these cases are associated with farm workers who have been exposed to infected poultry or livestock. The single fatality was reported in Louisiana late last year, involving an individual over the age of 65 with pre-existing health conditions.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asserts that the general public’s risk of infection remains low. Individuals most at risk are those who have occupational or recreational exposure to infected birds or animals.

Although human cases remain rare, approximately 160 million birds in the U.S.—including both backyard and commercial flocks—have been infected with bird flu since the outbreak commenced in February 2022, according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Recent data from the CDC, released on February 13, indicates that bird flu may have spread unnoticed among both animals and humans. A study involving blood tests of 150 cow veterinarians found that three had developed antibodies against bird flu, suggesting previous infections; however, none reported experiencing symptoms, per the CDC.

“These findings point to the potential advantages of systematic surveillance for the prompt detection of [the bird flu] virus in dairy cattle, milk, and individuals with exposure to cattle to enable proper hazard evaluations,” the CDC article stated.

Wyoming’s first human bird flu infection coincides with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) granting conditional approval to animal healthcare firm Zoetis for the use of its flu vaccine in poultry.

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