Four people test positive in Washington state’s first likely human bird flu infections

SEATTLE - Washington state health officials are investigating after four agricultural workers tested presumptively positive for bird flu, marking the first presumed human cases in the state, the Washington State Department of Health announced Sunday.

The four worked with infected birds at an egg farm in Franklin County where 800,000 chickens were euthanized after testing positive Tuesday. The workers had mild symptoms and received antiviral medication. More worker testing is underway and “the number of cases under investigation may change,” the department said.

The likely infections would make Washington the sixth state to record human infections of the bird flu strain H5N1. Health officials have reported 27 human cases across the country this year, some after exposure to poultry and others after exposure to cattle, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One case reported in Missouri last month involved someone with no known animal exposure.

The risk to the broader public is currently low, according to the CDC, but health officials say people regularly exposed to birds, cattle and wild animals face a higher risk.

State veterinarian Amber Itle said shoppers shouldn’t worry about infected chicken or eggs reaching grocery store shelves. Workers are euthanizing birds and composting infected materials to “deactivate this virus,” she said.

The health department warned people to avoid handling or allowing their pets near dead birds. It asked anyone who has worked on a poultry farm in Benton or Franklin counties since Oct. 7 to contact the Benton-Franklin Health District at 509-460-4550 if they have respiratory symptoms or red eyes.

All of the Washington residents who so far have tested presumptively positive were exposed to infected birds, state Secretary of Health Umair Shah said Sunday. Health workers have tested 25 people, with four presumed positive, 12 negative and the rest pending, Shah said. The four cases are presumed positive until the CDC confirms infections.

Health officials said they are not aware of any cases of human-to-human transmission in the state. Persistent human-to-human transmission would be an indication of a larger public health risk, they said.

“This is an evolving situation. We are continuing to monitor the situation closely,” Shah said.

Washington health officials said severe symptoms and significant mammal-to-mammal transmission could also tip the spread of bird flu into a broader public concern. Those factors are not present now, officials said.

As for protecting consumers and the food chain, Itle said, the state is disposing of birds properly and “removing any eggs that can potentially be infected or exposed.”

Testing of animals and eggs is ongoing at poultry and dairy farms in a “surveillance zone” the state is monitoring, Itle said. She declined to offer further details about that area and the farms within it.

“Your eggs are safe and your poultry is safe as well,” Itle said.