Colorado continues to work on bird flu on an emergency basis

Colorado Governor Jared Polis has extended his state’s bird flu emergency until September 1.

The governor responds to the bird flu outbreak in Weld County, Colorado. Weld County is often listed as a top 10 county for agricultural production and is usually the only high-quality county outside of California.

The World Health Organization considers bird flu a threat to public health because it has the potential to cause a new pandemic.

Polis took its first executive action a month ago, activating the State Emergency Operations Plan and directing the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to take all necessary and appropriate state actions to assist in response, recovery and mitigation efforts. More specifically, he has mobilized the resources needed to help affected poultry farms respond to and contain bird flu outbreaks.

In the new Executive Order, Polis commemorates the July oral declaration and extends the disaster declaration for an additional 30 days through September 1 due to the continued need to identify cases of bird flu and the opportunity for further response to affected facilities.

Since March, the bird flu virus has been spreading from farm to farm rather than from wild birds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 178 dairy herds in 13 states, in addition to commercial poultry flocks, have been infected with the virus.

Since March 2022, the Colorado Department of Agriculture has been leading the state’s response to the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak.

UISDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) first confirmed the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in dairy cows in Weld County on April 25, 2024.

Symptoms in dairy cows include low appetite, decreased milk production and abnormal colostrum-like milk.

HPAI continues to threaten Colorado’s domestic birds. Bird owners are being told to maintain biosecurity measures, keep flocks away from wild birds and not touch dead wild birds. Since 2022, more than 100 million commercial birds have been lost to bird flu.

According to Governor Polis, Colorado has the highest reported cases, with at least 50 detections.

Colorado has confirmed that 10 farm workers have contracted bird flu.

The CDC lists 14 cases of human bird flu. The 10 cases in Weld County came from two separate egg-laying operations.

So far, human cases have been limited to small areas, without exposure to larger populations. The symptoms of bird flu and influenza are very similar, which can compromise diagnostic skills.

The CDC has invested at least $10 million in protective equipment to protect workers from the virus. In addition to providing information and outreach for the health and safety of farm workers, seasonal bird flu vaccines are also used for workers and animals.

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