--- title: A Person in the U.S. Tested Positive for Bird Flu description: A person in the U.S. tested positive after having contact with cows thought to have the virus. The CDC says risk to the public is low. canonical: https://time.com/6962418/bird-flu-human-case-us/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-04-01T19:33:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:23:28.257Z article:section: Health og:title: A Person in the U.S. Tested Positive for Bird Flu og:description: Risk to the general public remains low, the CDC says. og:url: https://time.com/6962418/bird-flu-human-case-us/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt185cea31a7817cbd/698a554c457a5200d3d6a24c/bird-flu-cattle.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Grey geese og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Person in the U.S. Tested Positive for Bird Flu twitter:description: Risk to the general public remains low, the CDC says. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt185cea31a7817cbd/698a554c457a5200d3d6a24c/bird-flu-cattle.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Person in the U.S. Tested Positive for Bird Flu > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 1, 2024 7:33 PM UTC  Greylag geese sit on a field and rest while a cow passes by in the background. Greylag geese sit on a field and rest while a cow passes by in the background. Daniel Bockwoldt/Picture Alliance—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 1, 2024 7:33 PM UTC [In a rare case](https://time.com/6254312/avian-flu-pandemic-mutations/), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on April 1 that a person in the U.S. has tested positive for avian influenza, also known as bird flu. Despite the positive test, however, the CDC says risk to the general public remains low. Health officials have been tracking an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza since [a new variant emerged](https://www.who.int/news/item/12-07-2023-ongoing-avian-influenza-outbreaks-in-animals-pose-risk-to-humans) and began killing birds on multiple continents in 2020\. Sixty-seven countries reported outbreaks in 2022, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), [followed by another 14 in 2023](https://time.com/6268768/bird-flu-japan-chicken-slaughter/). Human cases, however, remain rare. Only 11 infections resulting from the currently circulating strain [have been reported globally](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/inhumans.htm) since 2021. Since January 2022, bird flu viruses have been detected among more than 82 million birds in the U.S., [according to the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/data-map-commercial.html). More recently, mammals in the U.S.—including [dairy cows](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/federal-state-veterinary-public-health-agencies-share-update-hpai) and [goats](https://www.avma.org/news/goat-minnesota-tests-positive-hpai)—have tested positive. According to the CDC’s April 1 announcement, the person who tested positive had contact with cows in Texas presumed to have bird flu. Their only reported symptom was conjunctivitis-like eye redness. They were told to isolate and are recovering after being treated with flu antivirals, which seem to work against the virus, the CDC says. (Seasonal flu vaccines do not protect against avian flu, however.) **Read More**: [_Is COVID-19 Still a Pandemic?_](https://time.com/6898943/is-covid-19-still-pandemic-2024/) The U.S.’ last human case of avian flu was [reported in 2022](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/s0428-avian-flu.html), after someone was exposed to infected poultry in Colorado. They went on to recover. The CDC maintains that risk to the general public is low, although people who are in prolonged close contact with birds and livestock may be at increased risk of infection. [The agency advises](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/hpai/hpai-interim-recommendations.html) avoiding direct contact with sick or dead animals, as well as any materials that may have been contaminated by an animal infected with avian flu. People who may have been in contact with infected animals should be monitored for [symptoms including](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/avianflu/default.html) eye redness, fever, cough, sore throat, congestion, muscle aches, fatigue, and shortness of breath. The disease's severity can range from mild to fatal. Food safety is not a major concern at this point, [according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture ](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/usda-fda-cdc-share-update-hpai-detections-dairy-cattle)(USDA). Poultry products are inspected for signs of disease before being made available for purchase, and dairy farms have been directed to destroy milk from infected cows. The pasteurization process also removes viruses from milk, and properly cooking eggs and poultry kills bacteria and viruses. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6962418/bird-flu-human-case-us/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6962418/bird-flu-human-case-us/"},"headline":"A Person in the U.S. Tested Positive for Bird Flu","datePublished":"2024-04-01T19:33:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:23:28.257Z","description":"Risk to the general public remains low, the CDC says.","url":"https://time.com/6962418/bird-flu-human-case-us/","keywords":["Disease","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt185cea31a7817cbd/698a554c457a5200d3d6a24c/bird-flu-cattle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt185cea31a7817cbd/698a554c457a5200d3d6a24c/bird-flu-cattle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Grey geese","caption":"Grey geese","creditText":"Daniel Bockwoldt/Picture Alliance—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/disease/","name":"Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6962418/bird-flu-human-case-us/","name":"A Person in the U.S. Tested Positive for Bird Flu"}}]}] ```