Knowledge Four new human cases of bird flu in the USA

In the USA, the authorities have announced four new cases of bird flu in humans. The risk to the US population remains "low", as the health authorities announced on Monday.

These are workers who all work in the same poultry plant, the CDC said on Monday. The infected workers reported conjunctivitis and flu-like symptoms.

A fifth case is also suspected but still needs to be investigated for confirmation. The new information from the authorities brings the number of bird flu cases in humans to eight.

Infected cow herds

The H5N1 bird flu virus has increasingly spread to mammals in recent months, including dairy cattle in the USA. Numerous herds of cows are infected in several US states.

The bird flu cases in humans have raised fears of an impending pandemic. In view of the spread of H5N1 in the USA, the chief virologist at Berlin's Charité hospital, Christian Drosten, described the bird flu virus as a possible trigger for a coming pandemic.