United States – Health authorities in the Washington State Department of Health have reported four suspected cases of human infection with bird flu, making the United States the sixth state to record such cases this year, as reported by Reuters.
Washington is looking at other possible exposures and has conducted tests on 25 individuals, the department said on Monday.
Impact on Humans and Livestock
The new cases cause increasing alarm among epidemiologists as the virus transmission to calfs this year, as well as infections in cows and farm workers, have caused scientists and federal officials to be concerned about humans.
Public health officers in California and Washington have noted that they plan to offer flu shots to farm workers to protect them from both bird flu and flu associated with the flu season.
Impact on Humans and Livestock
Co-infection with both types of virus could enhance changes that might bring about transmission of bird flu among people and lead to a pandemic, say the virologists.
“We don’t have evidence yet of transmission between people,” said Roberto Bonaccorso, spokesperson for Washington’s health department.
Washington province sent the samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to complete the confirmation and analysis, as the department said last Sunday. The CDC had no immediate response to the news on Monday.
Three of the four in question were symptomatic after working at a commercial egg farm contaminated with the virus, stated Washington’s health department. They reported minimal flu symptoms and were administered anti-viral drugs, the department stated, explaining they did not always adhere to guidelines on personal protective equipment.
Egg Farm Outbreak and Poultry Losses
Around 800,000 chickens were reported to have been euthanized at the egg farm after birds were affected in Washington’s first Fest Dix outbreak this year, according to state authorities. The carcasses and litter were being cleared, and the chopping centers where the chickens were euthanized were being decontaminated, stated the health department.
Twenty-seven people tested positive in the country by the end of 2024 before the virus’s circulation in Washington infected poultry farms and, for the first time, the dairy herds. Poultry or dairy cattle contacts were reported by all but one of the individuals, as reported by Reuters.
U.S. Outbreak Statistics
About 100 million birds, including chickens, turkeys, and others, have been affected in the United States alone, where the virus began early this year, 2022.