United States – As avian flu continues to spread across the country and the world over, cases of bird flu in humans that have been confirmed in the United States have been reported in two poultry farms in Colorado by the CDC on Thursday.
New Cluster of Human Infections
Nine others got infected, but all had mild symptoms and got infected through direct contact with the affected poultry and not through human-to-human transmission, as stated by the CDC.
“The identification of these cases highlights the ongoing risk to persons who work in close contact with infected animals,” said a team led by CDC investigator Dr. Cara Drehoff, as reported by HealthDay.
The new cluster brings the total number of documented US human infections with the H5N1 avian flu virus to thirteen since the year began, with nine of the patients handling poultry and four handling dairy cattle, as cited by the CDC.
Other cases have already been detected in dairy farm works. Avian influenza is now assumed to be prevalent in U. S dairy herds.
The new cluster was identified last month among poultry workers and was found in two egg production plants in the same Colorado county.
Investigation Details and Health Response
“In July 2024, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment responded to two poultry facilities with HPAI A(H5N1) virus detections in poultry,” Drehoff and team explained.
The infected flocks were to be disposed of, and 663 workers hired to assist in this process were to be checked for any signs of bird flu.
Out of the all the workers, 109 (16. 4%) of them complained of having the symptoms and consented to be tested.
Nine workers (8. 3%) were identified to be H5N1 avian flu positive according to the researchers who discovered the prevalence. All the cases had ‘mild’ illness, which was characterized by the development of fever and/or chills in six individuals, and the single most prevalent symptom was conjunctivitis – “pink eye.”
Most importantly, no cases of human-to-human transmission of bird flu were detected: “All those surveyed stated that they had physical reassessment with ill or wasted poultry during culling and carcasses removal and disposal,” the CDC team noted.
This is how a mutation that would facilitate transmission of H5N1 avian flu from one person to another could lead to a pandemic, many scientists have warned in the past.
Preventative Measures and Health Interventions
Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) was administered to the affected patients by the health workers to mitigate their infections.
In one of the egg-producing plants, the level of personal protective equipment ( PPE) was non-compliant, and the health officials donated goggles, gloves, and face masks to the plant to curb the H5N1 spread. Furthermore, oseltamivir was administered to all the workers at the facility so as to reduce the chances of getting infected.
The workers at the second plant also had low levels of ‘high PPE compliance, but when 44 workers involved in the poultry cull displayed signs that may indicate infection, they were also treated with oseltamivir as a precaution.
Also, because most of the workers at the two plants were Spanish-speaking, the Colorado health workers “visited both facilities to distribute cards providing information in English and Spanish about symptoms of avian influenza A virus infection in humans, where to seek care if workers became ill, and information for health care providers regarding workers’ exposure to H5N1-infected poultry.”
Ongoing Concerns and Recommendations
This outbreak was successfully controlled, and no one had previously considered it to be capable of developing into a pandemic. However, as additional sporadic cases of avian flu in human contact with animals are being reported, the recognition and management by healthcare providers are warranted, the CDC team emphasized, as reported by HealthDay.
US public health agencies should be ready to quickly investigate and respond to sickness in farm employees, including those who may not have easy access to a physician, according to Drehoff and her work.