Health officials in Colorado announced on Sunday that four people who handle poultry have been diagnosed with bird flu.
Since the first human case of the current outbreak was discovered in 2022, likewise in a Colorado poultry worker, there have been nine instances reported in the United States. This year, eight out of the nine were reported.
The patients experienced mild symptoms of respiratory infections, such as fever, chills, coughing, sore throat, and runny nose, along with reddish and irritated eyes. Hospitalized, none were, according to officials. The remaining American cases have also been minor.
Testing is being done on a fifth patient who exhibits symptoms, but the findings are still pending, according to officials. State health officials said that the workers were culling hens at a farm in northeastern Colorado. Everyone was in close proximity to diseased birds.
Since 2020, a bird flu virus has been spreading over numerous countries among mammals, including dogs, cats, skunks, bears, seals, and porpoises. The H5N1 virus, which was discovered in American livestock earlier this year, is already spreading in cattle across multiple states.
Health experts maintain their assessment that there is no risk to the general public and that the virus has not spread among individuals.
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However, experts are closely monitoring the situation because previous iterations of the same virus have killed humans.
At the state’s request, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dispatched a nine-member team to Colorado to assist with the inquiry, according to CDC officials.
Earlier this year, there were incidences involving dairy farm laborers in Colorado, Texas, and Michigan.
Further genetic study is being conducted to confirm that the virus found in the four most recent instances is exactly the same as the type found in the previous U.S. cases, although it is at least partially similar, according to officials.
The U.S. Agriculture Department reported on Friday that 152 dairy herds across 12 states have tested positive for the H5N1 virus. In excess of thirty states, hundreds of commercial poultry flocks have reported cases of H5N1 or other bird flu.
