11th Human Case of Bird Flu Confirmed

The Chilean Ministry of Health recently confirmed the country's first case of human infection with the avian influenza A(H5N1) virus.

This is the second human "H5N1 bird flu" virus infection reported in South America; Ecuador reported the first in December 2022.

Globally, this is the 11th human case of H5N1 reported since January 2022.

The prior 10 H5N1 cases also had exposure to poultry.

Bird Flu (Avian influenza) is a disease caused by influenza type A viruses that occur naturally among birds.

Detection of human infection with H5N1 bird flu in another country in South America is not surprising, wrote the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 29, 2023.

A recent CDC H5N1 technical report noted that "because of …the wide global prevalence of HPAI A(H5N1) viruses in wild birds and poultry outbreaks, continued sporadic human infections are anticipated."

As of early March 2023, H5N1 viruses (clade 2.3.4.4b) have been detected in mammals, wild birds, or poultry in 16 Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, and most of the countries in the world.

In the U.S., about 6,300 people in 52 jurisdictions have been monitored since 2022, and only one human case has been identified in Colorado.

The CDC notes the annual flu shot does not offer protection from this type of influenza. However, there is an approved bird flu vaccine (Audenz™) should a human-to-human outbreak occur.