22 March 2024, Brandenburg, Nauen Ot Ribbeck: Cows lie in the cowshed at the F.R.A.N.Z. demonstration farm Havellandhof Ribbeck. The F.R.A.N.Z. project comprises a network of ten demonstration farms throughout Germany. These include both arable and grassland farms. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/dpa
(Photo by Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Senior White House officials are on high alert after an incident where a Texan dairy farmer tests positive for a deadly strain of bird flu. 

The diagnosis comes just days after a report that cattle in five states, including Texas, tested positive for the virus last week, per NBC News. 

On Monday, Texas Department of State Health Services announced in a statement that the person who was infected worked on the same farm as some cows who previously tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu. 

The department marks the incident as the first case of novel influenza.

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"In March 2024, samples were collected and tested for influenza from several animals in Texas and Kansas. These animals, including wild birds, cats, and dairy cows, were tested because they exhibited signs of illness. Some of the animals tested positive for influenza," the annoucement states. "The patient became ill following contact with dairy cows presumed to be infected with avian influenza. The patient's primary symptom was conjunctivitis."

H5N1 outbreaks have been documented in cows in Texas, Idaho, Michigan, and New Mexico.

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According to Politico, senior officials at the White House and the Office of Pandemic Preparedness are receiving regular updates from the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Getty Images
(Photo : Getty Images)

The head regulator of America's vaccines states that the U.S. maintains a stockpile of vaccines targeting avian flu, per the news outlet. 

Texas Health and Human services informed readers of the symptoms of bird flu, which includes a fever over 100, cough, sore throat, eye redness (conjunctivitis), diarrhea, and seizures. 

At this time, H5N1 viruses are rarely transmitted from person to person and the current risk to the general public is low.  

See a full list of symptoms and more information here. 

Tags: h5n1 avian flu texas Dairy Cows