Excessive heat made it hard for poultry workers to wear goggles and masks while culling chickens on a farm experiencing an H5N1 outbreak.
Bird flu has infected six farmworkers in Colorado this month — the most in any state — as health officials stressed the importance of preparedness to contain the H5N1 virus spreading in dairy herds and poultry flocks across the country.affecting nearly 2 million chickens, according to Colorado officials.
The culling on the poultry farm in Weld County involves 160 workers and will continue for another 10 to 14 days to prevent further spread among the flock, said Eric Deeble, a senior official at the U.S. agriculture department overseeing the bird flu response. H5N1 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and caused outbreaks in U.S. dairy cows for the first time this spring.have been infected in 13 states, according to the U.S. agriculture department. This strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza is deadly to domestic poultry and can wipe out entire flocks in days. But it causes less severe illness in cows.
Across the United States, a total of nine people, including three other dairy workers — two in Michigan and one in Texas — have been infected with H5N1 this year. The CDC is not recommending livestock workers be vaccinated against bird flu because all workers who have contracted the disease reported mild symptoms. The poultry workers experienced eye inflammation and watery eyes along with typical flu symptoms including fever, chills, coughing, sore throat and runny nose, the CDC said. None were hospitalized.
Federal officials on Tuesday praised Colorado for its planning and response to the outbreak. In May, as dairy herds in the state became infected, the state had requested 5,000 goggles, 300,000 pairs of gloves and 150,000 N95 masks from the federal stockpile. Over the weekend, after testing indicated that the virus had infected the five poultry workers, the state requested 500 courses of Tamiflu.
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