3 suspected bird flu cases reported in Colorado

Three workers at a northeastern Colorado poultry farm have tested initially positive for bird flu, state health officials said.

The farm workers selected birds from the infected population, The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported FridayAll three workers had direct contact with infected birds and experienced soft symptoms, including conjunctivitis and “typical symptoms of a respiratory infection,” the department said.

The results are preliminary and tests have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation, The CDC stated that.

Yet, four farm workers in the United States have I was infected with the H5N1 virus, which is causing an ongoing epidemic among dairy cattle in several states.

One case was reported in Colorado, another in Texas and two more in Michigan, According to the CDC All of the cases involved direct exposure to dairy cows, according to state and federal health officials, and officials said there is no evidence that the H5N1 virus spreads easily among humans.

The CDC said the risk to the public remains low, but the agency added that it had sent a team to Colorado at the state’s request to assist with the investigation.

The CDC said it will investigate whether workers were wearing personal protective equipment. Farmworkers are encouraged but not required to wear such equipment, including masks, safety glasses and gloves.

“These preliminary results reiterate the risk of exposure to infected animals,” the CDC said of the three modern cases in Colorado. “There are no indications of an unexpected escalate in influenza activity in Colorado or in other states affected by outbreaks of H5 avian influenza in cattle and poultry.”

Bird flu refers to a group of influenza viruses that are primarily adapted to birds. The virus that infects farm workers, H5N1, was first identified in 1996 in China and reported in humans in 1997 in Hong Kong. The modern form of H5N1 that emerged in Europe in 2020 has spread rapidly around the world, with an outbreak in the United States affecting over 99 million birds.

The epidemic has been spreading among dairy farms since at least March 152 dairy herds in 12 states the virus was detected in them. Scientists are investigating how the virus is transmitted by cows.

The virus has also spread to a wide range of animals, including marine mammals such as seals and bottlenose dolphins, skunks, squirrels and even domestic cats.