ATLANTA  — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published findings in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report regarding highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) risks among people who work in close contact with dairy cattle and poultry in Colorado.

In August, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) responded to two poultry facilities that detected the HPAI virus in poultry.

According to the CDC, the poultry exposure-associated cluster of human cases of influenza A(H5) is the first to be reported in the United States. 

“The identification of these cases highlights the ongoing risk to persons who work in close contact with infected animals,” the CDC wrote in its abstract. 

In its response to each facility, the CDPHE used multidisciplinary, multilingual teams to facilitate case-finding, worker screening and treatment. 

“This cluster of influenza A(H5) cases in a predominantly Spanish-speaking migrant workforce highlights the importance of a public health response that prioritizes health equity,” the CDC added. “Multilingual teams, including Spanish speakers, were fundamental to building trust and conducting postexposure screening and testing and providing treatment. The robust public health response by CDPHE, including on-site screening and timely testing of symptomatic workers, increased access to care and likely optimized case-finding.” 

The abstract also stated that 663 workers who facilitate poultry depopulation received screenings for the illness. Among those, nine received positive influenza A(H5) test results with mild symptoms. Nineteen people also received a positive SARS-COV-2 test. 

“These findings suggest that poultry workers who are exposed to enclosed environments with birds infected with HPAI A(H5N1) virus are at increased risk for infection,” the CDC said in its report. “Given the continued circulation of this virus in the United States, public health agencies should proactively prepare for additional human cases in both dairy and poultry facilities.”

The agency also recommended that preparation for an outbreak should include the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), training public health field teams on proper PPE use, determining the logistics of the large-scale screening, specimen collection, and laboratory testing to determine if someone has seasonal respiratory viruses or influenza A(H5) virus.