A health alert from the Centers for Disease Control confirms that an individual in Colorado who had direct exposure to poultry and was involved in culling of poultry has tested positive to avian influenza.
Starting in January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service detected highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in wild birds in the United States, followed by multiple detections in commercial poultry and backyard bird flocks.
Virus in one person who involved in culling poultry does not change the human health risk assessment, which remain slow for the general public, the CDC said. People with work or recreational exposures to infected birds are at greater risk of infection and should follow recommended precautions.
From Jan 13 through April 27, more than 899 detections of wild birds infected with the virus were reported in 33 states. On Feb. 9, the CDC confirmed the first outbreak of the virus in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana. Since then, the CDC has identified 247 outbreaks among commercial poultry or backyard bird flocks in 29 states involving over 35 million birds.
The case of the Colorado individual with the virus was confirmed on April 20.
