Colorado Reports Additional Human Cases of H5 Bird Flu
as of July 22, 2024, Colorado has confirmed three additional human cases of H5 avian influenza (bird flu), bringing the state’s total to nine associated with current poultry outbreaks. These latest cases, including one presumptive positive identified on July 20th, involve individuals who worked directly with infected poultry at a commercial egg layer operation experiencing an H5 outbreak. All three individuals are experiencing mild illness and have been offered treatment with the antiviral drug oseltamivir.
These new cases follow the confirmation of two additional human cases on July 19th, linked to a different poultry farm in Colorado, which initially brought the total to six.Nationally, these additions raise the total number of confirmed human cases of H5 bird flu in the United States since April 2024 to thirteen. Prior to this year, the only previously reported human case in the U.S. occurred in Colorado in April 2022, bringing the total number of U.S. cases since 2022 to fourteen.
The Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC) currently assesses the risk to the general public as low. A multidisciplinary, bilingual field team from the CDC is currently in Colorado to support the state’s response to ongoing outbreaks in poultry.
While the virus is being closely monitored for genetic changes that could increase human-to-human transmission, no such changes have been detected to date. The CDC’s recommendations remain unchanged, emphasizing the importance of avoiding unprotected exposure to sick or dead animals – including wild birds, poultry, and othre domesticated animals – as well as animal feces, bedding, and unpasteurized milk.
The inquiry into these cases will focus on compliance with recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) usage, as moast historical human cases have occurred in individuals not utilizing appropriate PPE. Analysis of virus sequences will also be conducted to determine if a reassessment of risk is necessary.
The CDC provides interim recommendations for prevention, monitoring, and public health investigations related to H5N1 virus infections, available at http://tools.cdc.gov/bird-flu/prevention/hpai-interim-recommendations.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/hpai/hpai-interim-recommendations.html. Updated recommendations for worker protection and PPE use can be found at https://tools.cdc.gov/bird-flu/worker-safety/index.html.
