tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
. 2024 Aug 29;73(34):734-739.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7334a1. Cluster of Influenza A(H5) Cases Associated with Poultry Exposure at Two Facilities - Colorado, July 2024
Cara C Drehoff, Elizabeth B White, Aaron M Frutos, Ginger Stringer, Alexis Burakoff, Nicole Comstock, Alicia Cronquist, Nisha Alden, Isaac Armistead, Allison Kohnen, Radhika Ratnabalasuriar, Emily A Travanty, Shannon R Matzinger, Alexandria Rossheim, Aleigha Wellbrock, H Pamela Pagano, Dennis Wang, Jordan Singleton, Rebekah A Sutter, C Todd Davis, Krista Kniss, Sascha Ellington, Marie K Kirby, Carrie Reed, Rachel Herlihy; H5N1 Field Investigation Team
Collaborators, Affiliations
Persons who work in close contact with dairy cattle and poultry that are infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus are at increased risk for infection. In July 2024, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment responded to two poultry facilities with HPAI A(H5N1) virus detections in poultry. Across the two facilities, 663 workers assisting with poultry depopulation (i.e., euthanasia) received screening for illness; 109 (16.4%) reported symptoms and consented to testing. Among those who received testing, nine (8.3%) received a positive influenza A(H5) virus test result, and 19 (17.4%) received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. All nine workers who received positive influenza A(H5) test results had conjunctivitis, experienced mild illness, and received oseltamivir. This poultry exposure-associated cluster of human cases of influenza A(H5) is the first reported in the United States. The identification of these cases highlights the ongoing risk to persons who work in close contact with infected animals. Early response to each facility using multidisciplinary, multilingual teams facilitated case-finding, worker screening, and treatment. As the prevalence of HPAI A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b genotype B3.13 increases, U.S. public health agencies should prepare to rapidly investigate and respond to illness in agricultural workers, including workers with limited access to health care.
. 2024 Aug 29;73(34):734-739.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7334a1. Cluster of Influenza A(H5) Cases Associated with Poultry Exposure at Two Facilities - Colorado, July 2024
Cara C Drehoff, Elizabeth B White, Aaron M Frutos, Ginger Stringer, Alexis Burakoff, Nicole Comstock, Alicia Cronquist, Nisha Alden, Isaac Armistead, Allison Kohnen, Radhika Ratnabalasuriar, Emily A Travanty, Shannon R Matzinger, Alexandria Rossheim, Aleigha Wellbrock, H Pamela Pagano, Dennis Wang, Jordan Singleton, Rebekah A Sutter, C Todd Davis, Krista Kniss, Sascha Ellington, Marie K Kirby, Carrie Reed, Rachel Herlihy; H5N1 Field Investigation Team
Collaborators, Affiliations
- PMID: 39207932
- PMCID: PMC11361414
- DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7334a1
Persons who work in close contact with dairy cattle and poultry that are infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus are at increased risk for infection. In July 2024, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment responded to two poultry facilities with HPAI A(H5N1) virus detections in poultry. Across the two facilities, 663 workers assisting with poultry depopulation (i.e., euthanasia) received screening for illness; 109 (16.4%) reported symptoms and consented to testing. Among those who received testing, nine (8.3%) received a positive influenza A(H5) virus test result, and 19 (17.4%) received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. All nine workers who received positive influenza A(H5) test results had conjunctivitis, experienced mild illness, and received oseltamivir. This poultry exposure-associated cluster of human cases of influenza A(H5) is the first reported in the United States. The identification of these cases highlights the ongoing risk to persons who work in close contact with infected animals. Early response to each facility using multidisciplinary, multilingual teams facilitated case-finding, worker screening, and treatment. As the prevalence of HPAI A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b genotype B3.13 increases, U.S. public health agencies should prepare to rapidly investigate and respond to illness in agricultural workers, including workers with limited access to health care.