- The patient’s eyes were red and swollen in the image due to the infection.
- The infection began in the right eye, the scientists said, before emerging in the left as well.
This is the first image of the Texas dairy farm worker who contracted bird flu from a cow.
While the man suffered “very mild” symptoms, the photo shows how the virus caused the blood vessels in his eyes to burst, causing bleeding on the surface of his eyeballs.
In an official case report released Friday, CDC experts said they found “strong evidence” through genetic data that he contracted the virus from an infected cow in March.
The confirmation marks the first case of the H5N1 virus jumping from mammals to humans, a milestone that is of “enormous concern” to the World Health Organization.
The image above of the symptoms suffered by the Texas dairy farmer who contracted bird flu was posted in an online report by CDC officials.
The image and more details of the case were revealed in a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
They said the patient also suffered a subconjunctival hemorrhage, or bleeding just under the conjunctiva, or the clear surface that covers the white part of the eye.
The scientists also noticed a watery fluid coming out of the right eye.
The patient is only the second person to be diagnosed with bird flu in the U.S., and the first globally believed to have contracted the virus from a mammal.
Nearly 900 people in 23 countries have been infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu over the past two decades, but all were linked to wild or farmed birds.
They were working with cattle that at the time were thought to be infected with bird flu, which scientists say is the likely route of transmission.
It comes amid warnings from veterinarians in some areas that they are hearing reports of other farmers falling ill but not getting tested for bird flu.
So far, the virus has spread to 39 dairy herds in nine states, suggesting that hundreds, if not thousands, of dairy workers have been exposed.
The Texas patient went to the doctor with the infection in late March and scientists said his vital signs, such as breathing, were normal.
They also did not record signs of fever, respiratory symptoms or vision changes during the infection.
The day after treatment with antivirals, the patient did not report any symptoms except “discomfort in both eyes.”
The report added: “Over the next few days, the worker reported resolution of conjunctivitis without respiratory symptoms and household contacts remained well.”
CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen described the individual’s infection in early April as “very mild.”
She said NPR: ‘The person had very mild symptoms. They are recovering well. But we want to make sure, again, that we are testing people who may have been in contact.”
It comes amid reports from veterinarians that several farmers working with infected cattle appear to be ill but are not showing up for tests.
It comes after America’s top bird flu expert said bird flu may be one step closer to infecting humans.
The map above shows states that have reported bird flu infections in livestock.
In an interview with Statistical newsDr. Vivien Dugan, who also heads the CDC’s flu division, insisted the risk to the general public was still “low.”
But he admitted that repeated infections in livestock suggested the virus could become endemic in the species, increasing the risk of H5N1 spreading to humans, who have close contact with the animals.
He also warned that officials were having trouble tracking infections because many farmers were not coming forward to get tested.
Only 25 people have so far been tested for the disease in connection with the outbreak in cows and 100 are being monitored.
For comparison, among poultry workers who have been dealing with H5N1 for more than two years, the CDC has tracked more than 8,000 people for symptoms.
A total of 36 dairy farms in nine states also tested positive for the disease.