3 presumptive human cases of bird flu reported in Colo.
Eduardo Cuevas
Three poultry workers in northeast Colorado are presumed to have fallen ill with bird flu as more human cases sprout across the U.S., state and federal health officials said Friday.
The three workers were depopulating chickbreak of H5N1 avian influenza, which has been circulating in wild birds and has caused multistate outbreaks in dairy cows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Colorado epidemiologists suspected the poultry workers’ infections to be a result of working directly with infected poultry, the state Department of Public Health and Environment said.
The workers have exhibited mild symptoms that include conjunctivitis, or pink eye, and common respiratory infection symptoms, state officials said. None of the workers were hospitalized.
Before Friday, four people, all dairy workers, had fallen ill with bird flu this year, with one case in Texas, two cases in Michigan and one in northeast Colorado, identified in early July.
Officials have been worried about the spillover of avian influenza to humans. Initially, the influenza was believed to have come from wild birds before spreading to chickens and cows. The CDC says risk to the public remains low.
There are no signs of unexpected increases in flu activity in Colorado, or in other states affected by bird flu. But the latest cases are concerning because of the potential to cause severe disease, the CDC said.
“The other reason these types of human infections are concerning is because of their pandemic potential,” the CDC said. “If these viruses were to change to spread easily from person to person, it could trigger a pandemic.”
The latest Colorado workers have had specimens collected and sent to the CDC for testing. Colorado public health officials have collected additional samples from symptomatic workers that were being tested over the weekend, officials said.
State health officials say it is still safe to eat properly handled and cooked poultry products.
The CDC said 48 states have bird flu outbreaks in poultry. A dozen states have outbreaks among dairy cows.