Texas Resident Contracts Avian Flu After Contacting Infected Cows

Texas officials announced that an individual has contracted bird flu after coming into contact with infected cows.

“The case was identified in a person who had direct exposure to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza,” the Texas Department of Health and Human Services declared.

The individual’s only symptom of the illness was eye inflammation and is currently receiving treatment.

Officials emphasized that the risk of the disease to the general public remains low, as the virus is destroyed during the pasteurization process at dairies.

Despite the low concern, a health alert was issued to Texas dairy farms.

“DSHS is issuing this health alert to provide awareness to healthcare providers and ask them to be vigilant for people with signs and symptoms of avian influenza A(H5N1),” the alert reads. “Suspicion for avian influenza A(H5N1) should be heightened for people who have had contact with animals suspected of having avian influenza A(H5N1).”

Cows in New Mexico, Idaho, Michigan, Texas, and Kansas tested positive for the illness.

While some fear the emergence of avian flu in humans, conservative commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk wrote on X, “There are people who want you scared and afraid. They want you freaking out. Remember, it’s an election year.”

“Don’t panic. You know the drill by now,” he stated.

The reports come as it was recently revealed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has collaborated with China in conducting “bird flu gain-of-function experiments.”

At least $1 million dollars is funding a five-year project between the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an organization affiliated with the Wuhan lab. The collaboration runs from 2021-2026, according to the White Coat Waste Project.

“The aim of this work is to create a predictive phylodynamic model to identify which strains of avian influenza virus (AIV) pose the greatest risk to avian or human populations in the partner countries (USA, UK, and China), to test the predictions experimentally, and to enable communication of risk to stakeholders,” a record of the project reads.

The research involves infecting ducks, geese, and quail with bird viruses that can mutate into lab-created strains. Scientists will then measure the “potential to jump into mammalian hosts.”

Some of the viruses being studied are known to be dangerous to humans, WCW noted.