The move comes as Michigan confirms the H5N1 virus affected another herd in the state.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued an emergency disaster declaration in his state over an outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu in northeastern Weld County as officials recently reported that 1.8 million chickens were impacted by the virus.
The governor “verbally” declared a disaster after “an avian flu outbreak in a commercial poultry facility in Weld County,” according to a statement from his office issued on July 8. Mr. Polis’s office did not name the facility that was impacted by the outbreak.
The declaration means that Colorado can use its emergency powers to “take all necessary and appropriate state actions to assist with response, recovery, and mitigation efforts.”
In an update issued on July 8, the Colorado Department of Agriculture confirmed that 1.78 million chickens were impacted by highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in a statement on July 3 that a dairy farm worker in northeastern Colorado was infected with the H5N1 bird flu and had direct exposure to cattle infected with the virus. His only symptom was conjunctivitis, colloquially known as pink eye, which was described by the agency as mild.
“He has recovered. This case is an employee at a dairy farm in northeast Colorado who had direct exposure to dairy cattle infected with avian flu. To protect patient privacy, additional details are not being provided,” the agency said last week in a statement.
It’s not clear if the infected farm worker had any connection to the infected chickens in Weld County. Officials in the state said that the bird flu risk to Colorado residents remains low, noting that the virus is spreading among animals.
The virus is “not adapted to spread from person to person,” Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist, said in a statement.
“Right now, the most important thing to know is that 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,” she said.
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