Public health officials in Colorado announced last week that an adult male had tested positive for avian flu. Farm Policy News says the man reported mild symptoms from the infection, including pink eye.
The man is a dairy farm employee who was exposed to infected cattle and recovered after antiviral treatment. Since avian influenza was first confirmed in cattle in March, the Colorado man became the fourth reported case of human infection. The other three people who tested positive also worked on dairy farms and successfully recovered.
Colorado newspapers report the state now has the largest outbreak of bird flu among dairy cattle in the country. Colorado had more cases in the past month than any other state.
The latest federal and state data says Colorado has identified 26 herds so far with cases of avian influenza. Of those, 22 were identified within the last month and are still in quarantine.
