Washington Hit by 2024 Bird Flu Outbreak. Credit | Reuters
United States – Health authorities in Washington State have reported four suspected human cases of bird flu, marking the sixth state in the U.S. to report such infections this year. Washington is investigating other possible exposures, with tests conducted on 25 individuals so far.
Anxiety on Transmission of Virus to Livestock and Humans
The recent infection of calves, cows, and farm workers with the virus has caused apprehension among scientists and federal agencies on vulnerability of human beings. Scientists point to the risk of a new virus being created by simultaneously contracting bird flu and seasonal flu and its ability to spread through people, as reported by Reuters.
Preventive Measures for Farm Workers
Due to this rising threat, health departments in California and Washington are presenting plans to vaccinate farm workers with flu shots. This means that this initiative seeks to safeguard workers from getting infected with the bird flu as well as the flu that is with most tendencies to get around during certain seasons.
Link to Commercial Egg Farm Outbreak
Out of the four patients who were confirmed to have bird flu, three of them developed symptom after working at a commercial egg farm which was infected with the disease. They developed mild flu-like symptoms which were aggravated by antiviral medications. The egg farm has had to cully about 800000 birds since the outbreak that was confirmed in Washington’s Fest Dix region; disinfection is also being done.
Widespread Impact on Poultry and Dairy Farms
Since the start of the outbreak in the first quarter of 2022, ADAA estimates that about 100 million birds such as chickens and turkeys have been infected in the country. At the end of december 2024, 27 human cases were confirmed for the country with most of them attributed to exposure to infected poultry or dairy cattle, as reported by Reuters.
Monitoring and investigation on a continuous basis
Washington State has forwarded the samples to CDC to ascertain and confirm the findings. Consequently, the CDC has not issued an immediate response as of Monday, but health officials remain vigilant.
