Colorado bird flu cases show how extreme heat may be complicating efforts to control the virus
Extreme heat may have contributed to the illnesses of five workers who fell sick last week while culling a large flock of chickens infected with the H5N1 virus in Colorado, health officials reported on Tuesday. Dr. Nirav Shah, the principal deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noted that Colorado was experiencing temperatures above 104 degrees at the time of transmission, with even higher temperatures inside the barns. To cool down the sweltering barns, large industrial fans were used, which not only circulated air but also dust and feathers—potential carriers of the H5N1 virus. “These large fans were moving so much air that workers struggled to maintain a proper fit with their masks and eye protection,” Dr. Shah explained. The CDC, working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, has confirmed four of the cases, with a fifth still awaiting confirmation from the CDC after testing positive at a state lab. This outb...