Three poultry workers in northeastern Colorado are suspected to be infected with avian flu. Human cases sSpread across the USstate and federal health officials said Friday.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the three workers were culling chickens at an egg-laying facility where there has been an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza, which has spread among wild birds and is infecting dairy cows in several states.
Colorado state epidemiologists suspect the poultry worker infections are the result of direct handling of infected poultry, and the state This was revealed by the Ministry of Public Health and Environment.
State officials said the workers were experiencing mild symptoms, including conjunctivitis and other common respiratory infections, and none of them were hospitalized.
As of Friday, four dairy workers had fallen ill with avian flu this year, one in Texas, two in Michigan and the fourth in northeastern Colorado. Identified in early JulyThe three workers in Colorado have been infected with avian influenza, bringing the total number of cases in the U.S. to seven. It is the first time that the three cases have occurred in the same location.
Officials are concerned that bird flu could jump to humans — it was initially thought to have started in wild birds and then spread to chickens and cattle — but the CDC says the risk to the general public remains low.
There are no signs of an unexpected increase in influenza activity in Colorado or other states affected by bird flu, but the recent cases are of concern because they can cause severe illness, the CDC said.
“Another reason these types of human infections are of concern is because they have the potential to cause a pandemic,” the CDC said. “If these viruses were to change so that they could spread easily from person to person, they could cause a pandemic.”
Samples have been taken from the latest Colorado worker and sent to the CDC for confirmation testing for the specific H5N1 virus currently circulating. Colorado public health officials are taking additional samples from symptomatic workers and plan to test them this weekend, officials said.
In 2022, a man incarcerated in a Colorado prison He was the first person in America He was infected with bird flu. He worked at a poultry farm.
State health officials say it remains safe to eat chicken products that have been properly handled and cooked, which kills any bacteria and viruses, including the avian influenza virus.
To date, avian influenza has been reported in poultry in 48 states, and in dairy cows in 12 states, according to the CDC.
