Poultry Workers Treated for Avian Flu Infections in Washington State

Four workers tested positive for the avian flu virus after culling chickens at an egg farm in southeastern Washington State — the first human cases reported in the Pacific Northwest. The diagnoses potentially raise the U.S. total to 31 since late March, though “the number of cases under investigation may change” as more people are tested, said the state Department of Health.

State and local public health officials were monitoring exposed workers for symptoms of avian influenza and providing tests and treatment for ill workers. Samples from the four workers were sent to the CDC for confirmatory testing.

At present, the CDC has confirmed 27 human cases of bird flu in five states; all but one of the cases involved dairy or poultry workers. California has nearly half of the cases, with 13 people. The CDC says the risk to the general public remains low.

“The individuals experienced mild symptoms and have been provided with antiviral medication,” said the Washington Department of Health. “The cases took place at a farm that was the site of an avian influenza outbreak in chickens.” The egg farm in Franklin County had 839,700 hens, said a USDA database.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has killed 3.48 million birds in domestic flocks in October, mostly laying hens and broiler chickens. More than 104 million birds in domestic flocks have died of the virus or were culled to prevent its spread since bird flu arrived in the United States in February 2022.

The bird flu virus has been confirmed in 331 dairy herds in 14 states since it was identified in dairy herds in the Texas panhandle in March. California, the No. 1 dairy state, has reported 131 infected herds.