Disaster declaration issued for Weld County avian flu outbreak – FOX 31 Denver

FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2015, file photo, cage-free chickens walk in a fenced pasture at an organic farm near Waukon, Iowa. Some farmers are wondering if it's OK that eggs sold as free-range come from chickens being kept inside. It's a question that arises lately as farmers try to be open about their product while also protecting chickens from a highly infectious bird flu that has killed roughly 28 million poultry across the country. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

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 Colorados 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.

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 pathogenicavian 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:

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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Disaster declaration issued for Weld County avian flu outbreak - FOX 31 Denver