Disaster declaration issued for Weld County avian flu outbreak

DENVER (KDVR) — Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency on July 5 after an outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu was reported at a facility in Weld County.

The declaration is for a commercial poultry facility and is intended to ensure the state government can provide resources and support for Colorado’s agriculture industry. The size of the facility, when the outbreak began and how the state will assist in this effort is unclear. FOX31 has reached out to state officials for more information.

Colorado’s first human case of bird flu in 2024 identified

Polis’ verbal declaration activates the State Emergency Operations Plan, directing the Office of Emergency Management to “take all necessary and appropriate State actions to assist with response, recovery, and mitigation efforts.” The state said that specifically, this will help provide Weld County avian producers the necessary resources to respond to and contain the outbreak of avian flu.

The state has been focusing on avian flu in dairy cattle, asking livestock exhibitors to take extra steps to keep themselves and their animals safe during county fair season. Highly pathogenic avian influenza was first positively identified in Colorado dairy cattle on April 25, and has led to 10 facilities being placed on quarantine.

The bird-borne virus can be transmitted to cattle and humans but has also been found in other mammals. According to the World Health Organization, symptoms of the virus are primarily respiratory, but the most recent human case involved conjunctivitis (pink eye).

The Weld County disaster declaration also comes only five days after the state announced the first human case of bird flu for the year. That worker was employed at a dairy farm in northeast Colorado with direct exposure to dairy cattle infected with avian flu.

Northeast Colorado is also where the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected on April 25.

The Centers for Disease Control and the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment recommend that to prevent getting sick with H5N1, individuals should:

• Avoid exposure to sick or dead animals, including wild and domesticated birds or other animals

• Drink only pasteurized milk, never raw milk

• Avoid exposure to animal poop, bedding or litter, or materials touched by, or close to, birds or other animals with suspected or confirmed H5N1 virus.

According to the CDC, around 40 birds were found to have H5N1 at a Morgan County facility on June 27. Another facility in Larimer County was found to have 10 affected birds on June 26. Before that, the most recent detection of H5N1 in flocks was found on Feb. 8 in Delta County.

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