The CDC reported three more suspected bird flu cases among poultry farmers on Friday. In the US state of Colorado, three people are suspected of being infected with the H5 bird flu virus. “There is no evidence of an unexpected increase in influenza cases in cattle and poultry in Colorado or other states affected by outbreaks of H5 avian influenza,” the health agency said. All three had mild symptoms.
Workers slaughtering animals infected with H5N1 bird flu at a poultry farm were infected. CDC sent a team to Colorado to support the investigation. The cases are part of a widespread outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza, which has spread worldwide in wild birds but has also infected poultry and several other mammal species, including dairy cows in the United States.
There, the spread of bird flu to dairy cows is a concern. In March, US officials reported the first outbreak of the H5N1 virus in dairy cows. Since then, 139 herds have been affected in twelve states.
Contact with the virus in poultry and dairy farms increases the risk of the virus mutating, which scientists fear could bring human transmission closer.
US biotech company Moderna earlier in July received a $176 million funding injection from the US government to develop a vaccine against bird flu.
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