(Reuters) – Colorado has reported four confirmed infections of the H5N1 bird flu virus in poultry workers and is checking the status of a fifth suspected case, health officials said on Sunday.
Human infections with H5N1 bird flu could cause serious illness and even a pandemic if the virus mutates and gains the ability to spread easily between people, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
The CDC has confirmed four of Colorado’s cases, the state public health department said, with a fifth pending confirmation by the agency, which is supporting further investigation of the matter.
“Samples from a fifth worker were presumptive positive at the state laboratory on Saturday and will be sent to the CDC for confirmation,” it said in a statement.
The workers had mild symptoms, ranging from conjunctivitis, or conjunctivitis, to respiratory signs, the document said, although none were hospitalized.
(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru and Leah Douglas; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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