United States: Four people involved in the poultry business in Colorado have tested positive for bird flu, as revealed by health officials on Sunday.
The new cases increase the United States tally to nine; the first human case of the current outbreak was identified in 2022 in a Colorado poultry worker. Of the nine, eight were discovered this year, as reported by HealthDay.
Mild Symptoms and No Hospitalizations
Their health complaints were mild—red and itchy eyes and flu-like symptoms of fever, shivering, cough, throat irritation, and sneezing. Fortunately, none of them were hospitalized, according to the authorities. The other cases from the other U.S. have also been mild.
There is one other person presenting with symptoms, and the results of their test haven’t come out yet, according to the authorities. The workers who fell ill were de-feathering chickens at a farm in northeast Colorado, as reported by the state health department. All had direct contact with the infected birds.
Broader Context of Bird Flu
The bird flu virus has been infecting mammals since 2020, including dogs, cats, skunks, bears, seals, and porpoises in hundreds of countries. The virus that surfaced early this year as H5N1 hit American livestock and is currently present in cattle in several states.
Officials around the world have downplayed the risk to the rest of the population, and the disease has not affected humans. But officials are paying close attention since prior manifestations of the same virus have proven fatal to people.
A nine-person team from CDC has been deployed to Colorado to assist in the probe, following a request from the state, CDC officials established.
These cases earlier this year were among dairy farm workers in Michigan, Texas, and Colorado.
The virus identified in the four latest cases is at least partly similar to the type that was identified in several recent samples of the disease in the U.S., but it is still being tested to determine whether it is completely the same, officials added, as reported by HealthDay.
CDC Involvement and Statewide Impact
Up to date Friday the H5N1 virus had been reported in 152 dairy herds in 12 states as the U. S. Agriculture Department revealed. Over 300 commercial poultry farms in at least 30 states of the country have been affected by H5N1 or other strains of bird flu.