Three poultry workers in northeastern Colorado tested “presumed positive” after state health officials responded to an outbreak of bird flu at a commercial egg-laying facility. According to a news release from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment , the workers were culling poultry from an infected population at a farm in northeastern Colorado, and all had direct contact with the infected birds. State officials said the workers experienced mild symptoms, including conjunctivitis — also known as “pink eye” — and “common respiratory infection symptoms,” but did not elaborate on what those respiratory symptoms were or whether antiviral treatment had been given to the workers.
None of the individuals was hospitalized, the news release stated. The three cases have yet to be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but state officials have sent samples to the CDC for testing, officials said in a statement . More cases could be confirmed from this outbreak — state officials said more samples have been collected from symptomatic workers, which will be tested this weekend.
“All of the people who tested presumptive positive experienced mild symptoms and were workers ...
at a poultry facility experiencing an outbreak of the H5N1 virus that is circulating in wild birds and has been causing multi-state outbreaks in dairy cows and poultry,” CDC officials stated. “At the state’s request, CDC is sending a team to Colorado to su.