10% of Colorado Cows Show Bird Flu Symptoms

The state of Colorado has introduced protective protocols for mostly migrant farmworkers to avoid possible human exposure to bird flu in the state after up to 10% of cows were found to be showing symptoms of the virus.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture imposed the measures after two human cases occurred, one in Michigan and another in Texas, and in the midst of a national outbreak of the virus in livestock.

In Colorado, officials estimate that 5% to 10% of dairy cows have symptoms consistent with the H5N1 influenza A virus.

As a precaution, those in direct contact with these cows should Wear protective suits and clean and disinfect your body before performing other tasks.

Another 12 states have introduced protective measures after the discovery of several cows infected with avian influenza.

In Michigan, the state government declared a “state of emergency” on farms and activated new safety protocols due to the “threat of avian influenza to animal and human health, as well as commerce and industry,” Tim said. Boring, director of the state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In Texas last April, authorities reported a human infection with the avian influenza virus. The diagnosis was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This was the second human case of H5N1 avian influenza reported in the United States.

This human contamination appears to be due to the presence of an avian influenza virus in wastewater near an Austin farm, Anthony Maresso, director of the Texas Wastewater Environmental Biomonitoring Network, said Friday.

In response, prevention measures were expanded due to suspicions that no further cases of human infection had been reported.

Since last March, at least 45 people have been tested for the H5N1 virus across the country.

According to Helen Chu, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle, “there is not enough information yet” to determine whether bird flu is already affecting farmworkers, 80% of whom are Latino immigrants.

This is due to restrictions imposed by the CDC, which only allows certain workers to be tested.

For its part, the CDC emphasizes that the risk of human infection “remains low.”

“Preliminary analysis of genetic sequences suggests that these viruses are still predominantly avian and poorly adapted to humans.”This was reported by the federal agency, Efe reports.