Confirmation of the first human infection with bird flu
A Colorado prison inmate has tested positive for bird flu, the first confirmed human infection with the disease that has killed millions of chickens and turkeys, but US federal officials say they still see little threat to the public.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the man who tested positive was on a pre-release program and was helping remove chickens from an infected farm.
Public health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement, said the man, who was under the age of 40, reported fatigue for a few days but has since recovered, and the man has been isolated and treated with an antiviral drug.
Other people involved in the bird removal operation in Colorado tested negative, but were retested out of great caution.
“The inmate was part of a prison staff of inmates about to be released and were working on the farm before a case of bird flu was confirmed there on April 19,” said Lisa Wiley, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Corrections. .
When avian influenza was detected on the farm in Montrose County, inmates were asked to help cull the birds.
Agriculture officials reported an outbreak on a Montrose County farm with 58,000 broilers.
Despite the infection, the CDC considers the risk to the general public to be low because the spread of the virus between people requires close contact with an infected bird.
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