Detections of H5N1 avian influenza have slowed in both animals and humans, but continued surveillance is warranted, CDC researchers said.
In dairy cattle, cases surged over the fall and early winter but eased in January, while cases in poultry flocks fell after February, and came down last month in backyard flocks, according to data on CDC’s websiteopens in a new tab or window that was shared during a clinician outreach and communication activity (COCA) call on Tuesday. “Most of our human cases are known to be associated with animal exposures, so fewer infections in the animals leads to fewer infections in people,” Alicia Budd, MPH, team lead of the national surveillance and outbreak response team at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), said during the call.