Colorado hit by H5N1 bird flu outbreak — weeks after plague was confirmed

Nearly 70 Colorado poultry workers are showing symptoms of bird flu in the largest outbreak to date, the CDC announced today.

Three cases of H5N1, also known as bird flu, were confirmed on Friday and 16 other workers with symptoms were tested on Monday, but the results are not yet known.

This brings the total number of human cases to nine. Experts fear the virus could mutate and become more dangerous as it continues to jump from one species to another.

They are so concerned about an outbreak that the federal government has paid Moderna, best known for its COVID vaccine, $176 million to develop an H5N1 vaccine for humans, in case it becomes a national pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reviewing the series of cases in Colorado to determine whether to update the risks to human health.

Colorado health officials said 150 workers were given antiviral medication to treat H5N1 bird flu. They confirmed that a total of 69 workers were showing symptoms.

Initial analysis has not found any concerning signs that the virus is mutating, making it easier to spread among people. In addition, the CDC is not currently recommending that livestock producers get vaccinated against the disease, said Nirav Shah, deputy director of the CDC. US News.

According to federal officials, the workers were culling poultry at a farm in northeastern Colorado when they developed mild symptoms, including conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye, and respiratory infections.

None of the Colorado workers have been hospitalized after contracting the virus, but they are being monitored for persistent symptoms.

The CDC told DailyMail.com that it has sent a team of nine people, including epidemiologists, veterinarians, clinicians and an occupational hygienist, to Colorado to determine whether to adjust the public health response to the outbreak.

“Ongoing monitoring of employees is being conducted as part of this assessment and additional samples are being tested,” the spokesperson said.

All the infected workers contracted the virus after coming into direct contact with poultry. Shah said they were not wearing protective gear when they killed the chickens.

“The use of personal protective equipment was not optimal, particularly the masks and eye protection,” Shah told U.S. News, referring to personal protective equipment.

She alleged that the high temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and powerful industrial fans made it difficult for the workers to keep the protective gear on their faces.

The CDC fears that H5N1, also known as bird flu, could cause serious illness and that if it spreads easily from person to person, it “could cause a pandemic.”

According to the WHO, about 50 percent of all people diagnosed with the disease die. Cleveland Clinicbecause the H5N1 strain can cause massive inflammation in the respiratory tract.

Bird flu caused panic in 2022 after it spread from dairy cows to a human in Colorado. Now, however, it is responsible for the largest outbreak in birds, killing more than 100 million people worldwide.

Outbreaks began to increase in humans and among farmworkers in March, with nine cases reported in the U.S. since then, including the four Colorado workers.

Two farmworkers in Michigan were diagnosed with the disease, one in Texas, and someone in northern Colorado developed pink eye after coming into contact with infected cattle.

All symptoms of the infection are mild and there are currently no signs that bird flu can be transmitted from human to human.

Federal health officials reported that the latest cases were acquired “at a poultry farm where there was an outbreak of the H5N1 virus that circulates in wild birds and has caused outbreaks in dairy cows and poultry in multiple states.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there have been 152 confirmed outbreaks of avian influenza in cattle herds so far this year.

The CDC is still investigating the outbreak and has warned the public that ‘if these viruses were to adapt in such a way that they could spread easily from person to person, it could cause a pandemic. However, to date, we have not seen any genetic changes in the virus that would increase the likelihood of transmission between people.’

Health officials fear that influenza A viruses, which infect birds and livestock, could mutate and spread more easily from person to person. And because the human immune system is not used to this, a new strain could quickly spread around the world.

They are now considering whether and when to deploy 4.8 million doses of a bird flu vaccine developed by vaccine manufacturer CSL Seqirus.

The supply would come from a stockpile of vaccines available before the pandemic and funded by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

“It uses a highly scalable manufacturing method and is currently capable of delivering up to 150 million doses of influenza vaccine to support an influenza pandemic response within six months of a pandemic declaration,” CSL Seqirus said in a May report. press release.

While the vaccines are expected to be ready later this summer, they may not be approved for immediate use. In addition, it is unclear how quickly the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be able to approve the vaccines for the general public.

“While the CDC’s current risk assessment for the general public is low, if it is determined that the U.S. population needs to be vaccinated to prevent H5N1 influenza, the FDA will use its regulatory processes to take appropriate steps to ensure vaccines are available as quickly as possible,” an FDA spokesperson said. CBS News in May.

In the meantime, the CDC warns that people who come into contact with infected birds or animals through work or other recreational activities are at greater risk of contracting bird flu.

The report came just a week after the agency confirmed that a Colorado resident had contracted bubonic plague, a potentially life-threatening disease that can be spread to humans via an infected rodent flea or by touching an infected animal.

The plague killed millions of people in Europe in the 14th century, but in rural areas of New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado the disease is considered rare.

In the US, about seven people get the plague each year.