Colorado is rocked by outbreak of H5N1 bird flu - weeks after confirming the plague

Nearly 70 Colorado-based poultry workers have symptoms of the avian bird flu, marking the largest outbreak to date, the CDC revealed today.

There were three cases confirmed to have H5N1, also known as avian influenza, on Friday and 16 other symptomatic workers were tested on Monday, but the results are still pending. 

It brings the total number of human cases to nine and experts fear virus could mutate to become more dangerous if it continues to jump between species.

They're so concerned about an outbreak that the federal government has paid Moderna - of covid vaccine fame - $176 million to create H5N1 vaccine for humans in case it becomes a national pandemic.

The CDC reported that four poultry workers have contracted the avian bird flu while working at a commercial egg layer operation in Colorado. There were three cases confirmed on Friday and one person is believed to have H5N1, also known as avian influenza, but the results are still pending

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is studying the cluster of cases in Colorado to determine if they should update the risks to human health. 

Colorado health officials reported that antiviral medication was given to 150 workers to treat the H5N1 bird flu and have confirmed that a total of 69 workers have shown symptoms. 

An initial analysis hasn't shown any worrisome signs that the virus is mutating, making it easier to spread among people and the CDC is not currently recommending that livestock workers need to be vaccinated against the disease, Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC told US News.

Federal officials said the workers had been culling poultry at a farm in northeast Colorado when they started experiencing mild symptoms including conjunctivitis, more commonly known as pink eye, and respiratory infections.

None of the Colorado workers were hospitalized after contracting the virus but are being monitored for ongoing symptoms.

The CDC told DailyMail.com that is has deployed a team of nine people including epidemiologists, veterinarians, clinicians and an industrial hygienist to Colorado' to determine whether they should update the public health response to the outbreak.

'There is ongoing monitoring of workers as part of this assessment and additional specimens are being tested,' the spokesperson said.

All of the infected workers contracted the virus after they came into direct contact with poultry and Shah said they weren't wearing protective gear while they killed the chickens.

'PPE use was not optimal, particularly the masks and eye protection,' Shah told US News, referring to personal protective equipment.

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She claimed the hot temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and the strong industrial fans made it difficult for the workers to keep the protective gear on their faces.

The CDC fears that H5N1, also known as the bird flu, has the potential to cause severe disease and if it spreads easily from person to person, it could 'trigger a pandemic.'

Roughly 50 percent of all people who are diagnosed with the disease die from it, according to Cleveland Clinic, because the H5N1 strain can cause massive inflammation in the respiratory system.

The bird flu began causing panic in 2022 after it spread from dairy cows to a human in Colorado, but it is now responsible for the largest outbreak among birds, wiping out more than 100 million around the world.

The outbreaks among humans started amping up in farmworkers in March and since then, there have been nine reported cases of the disease in the US, including the four Colorado workers.

Two farmworkers were diagnosed with the disease in Michigan, one in Texas and an additional person in northern Colorado who suffered from pink eye after he came in contact with infected cattle.

All symptoms from infection are mild and there are currently no signs that the avian bird flu can pass from human to human.

Federal health officials reported that the newest cases were contracted 'at a poultry facility experiencing an outbreak of the H5N1 virus that is circulating in wild birds and has been causing multistate outbreaks in dairy cows and poultry.'

The US Department of Agriculture reported that there have been 152 confirmed bird flu outbreaks in cattle herds so far this year. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that they are concerned about this novel influenza virus because it has the potential to cause severe disease and if it spreads easily from person to person, saying it could 'trigger a pandemic

The CDC is still investigating the outbreak and has warned the public that 'if these viruses were to change to spread easily from person to person, it could trigger a pandemic, though, to date, we have not seen genetic changes in the virus that would make it more likely to transmit between humans.'

Health officials worry that influenza A viruses that infect birds and cattle can mutate to spread from one person to another more often, and because the human immune system wouldn't be used to it, a new strain could spread quickly around the world.

They are now considering if and when they should deploy 4.8 million doses of a bird flu vaccine developed by vaccine maker CSL Seqirus.

The supply would be pulled from a cache of pre-pandemic vaccines funded by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.

It utilizes a highly scalable method of production and is currently positioned to deliver up to 150 million influenza vaccine doses to support an influenza pandemic response within six months of a pandemic declaration,' CSL Seqirus said in a May news release.

However, while the vaccines are expected to be completed later this summer, they may not immediately be authorized for use and it is still unclear how quickly the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could approve the shots for the public.

'While CDC's current risk assessment to the general public is low, if it is determined that the U.S. population needs to be vaccinated to prevent H5N1 influenza, then the FDA will use its regulatory pathways to take the appropriate steps to ensure vaccines are available in the timeliest manner possible,' an FDA spokesperson told CBS News in May.

In the meantime, the CDC has warned that people who are exposed to infected birds or animals, either through jobs or other recreational activities, are at a greater risk of contracting bird flu.

The report comes only a week after the agency confirmed a Colorado resident contracted the bubonic plague - a potentially life-threatening disease passed to humans through an infected rodent flea or by handling an infected animal.

The plague killed millions of people in Europe in the 14th century but it is considered a rare illness in rural areas in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado.

Roughly seven people contract the plague in the US each year.