Colorado dairy worker tests positive for bird flu

By Jonel Aleccia | Associated Press

A fourth farm worker has been infected with bird flu in the outbreak linked to dairy cows, health officials reported Wednesday.

The Colorado worker is a man who had direct exposure to infected dairy cows, Colorado health officials said. He developed pink eye, or conjunctivitis, received antiviral treatment and has recovered.

Three previous cases of human infection linked to cows have been reported in dairy workers in Texas and Michigan. Another person was previously infected after being exposed to poultry, officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new infection “does not change” the agency’s assessment that the risk to the general public remains low. Surveillance systems tracking flu in the U.S. have shown no unusual activity, officials said.

As of Wednesday, more than 135 dairy herds in a dozen states had reported infections with the Type A H5N1 virus that originated in poultry, according to the Agriculture Department.

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