Three poultry workers possibly test positive for bird flu in Colorado

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced Friday that three presumptive positive cases of bird flu were found in poultry workers.

The workers who got sick recently culled birds at a commercial egg laying farm in northern Colorado and displayed mild symptoms of bird flu, including pink eye and respiratory issues. None of the three were hospitalized.

According to data from the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, bird flu was detected Monday at an egg-laying operation in Weld County that affected 1.8 million birds.

State officials are taking more samples from the three patients this weekend to confirm whether they have bird flu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also supporting the investigation. The agency said the risk to the general public from the outbreak of bird flu in poultry and dairy cows remains low.

On July 3, the CDPHE confirmed a case of bird flu in a dairy worker. A previous detection of bird flu was found in a Colorado poultry worker in April 2022.

“The risk to most people remains low. Avian flu viruses are currently spreading among animals, but they are not adapted to spread from person to person. … People who have regular exposure to infected animals are at increased risk of infection and should take precautions when they have contact with sick animals,” Rachel Herlihy, a state epidemiologist, said in a statement at the time.