Public health officials in Colorado announced on Wednesday that a man had tested positive for avian flu after reporting mild symptoms, including conjunctivitis, or pink eye.
Officials said that the man, a dairy farm employee, recovered from his exposure to infected cattle after receiving antiviral treatment.
Since the confirmation of avian flu in cows in March, the US has reported four human cases of bird flu. The first three people to test positive were also dairy farm workers who recovered.
The first two workers to contract the virus had mild pink eyes. In the third case, the worker had mild respiratory symptoms.
In a statement, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the case and said the risk to the general public from bird flu remains low, although people with exposure to infected animals are at greater risk.
The virus has infected cows at 139 farms in 12 US states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 27 of those outbreaks occurred in Colorado.
On Tuesday, Moderna signed a $176 million government contract to advance the development of its human bird flu vaccine.
The USDA is conducting its own research and soliciting information from about two dozen companies on a potential bird flu vaccine for cattle, but the agency has stated that it hopes to eliminate the virus from dairy herds without using a vaccine.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")
