H5N1 avian influenza was first detected in camels in the US

On May 28, US officials said for the first time they recorded cases of infection with the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus in alpacas - a member of the South American camel family - on a farm in this country.

Alpaca.

This announcement was made in the context that bird flu is spreading in many dairy farms in the US and recently recorded 2 cases of bird flu in humans.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, the farm discovered that camels had bird flu in the northwestern state of Idaho. This is also the farm where infected poultry were treated and destroyed this month. The US Department of Agriculture said this is the first time the H5N1 avian influenza virus has been detected in this camel species .

In recent weeks, authorities have detected cases of the H5N1 bird flu virus in more than 50 animals in the US, including dairy cows. On May 22, US health officials announced the discovery of a second case of bird flu in humans in Michigan, less than two months after discovering the first case in Texas.

In March, US authorities discovered cases of virus infection in cows and goats. This surprised experts because this species is not thought to be susceptible to the H5N1 influenza strain.

Although no cases of human-to-human transmission have been recorded so far, experts are concerned about the possibility of the virus mutating into a form that can spread between people.