Colorado has declared a disaster emergency after a commercial poultry farm reported a major bird flu outbreak affecting close to 1.8 million chickens.
The outbreak, the largest in Colorado since 2022, was identified in Weld County, the state’s largest agricultural county. The area leads the state in dairy production, and has 2.1 million acres of land dedicated to farming and raising livestock.
The disaster declaration, declared July 8, unlocks state resources “necessary to help affected poultry facilities respond to and contain outbreaks,” according to a release. The state veterinarian has also declared a quarantine order in parts of Weld County to limit movement of birds in and out of the area.
The outbreak comes as highly pathogenic avian influenza tears through the state, infecting two humans since 2022 plus a wide variety of animals and birds. A Colorado farm worker was treated for bird flu earlier this month in the nation’s fourth case tied to the spread from dairy cattle to humans.
Colorado also has the highest number of bird flu cases among dairies out of any state, with close to one-fourth of operations reporting the virus, according to the Colorado School of Public Health. The state is 13th in the nation for milk production and 27 herds have tested positive for the virus, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
State officials stress that the risk to the public remains low as there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Colorado also reported a human case of avian influenza in 2022, though it was related to poultry operations.
“Avian flu viruses are currently spreading among animals, but they are not adapted to spread from person to person,” Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist at Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said in a statement. “Right now, the most important thing to know is that people who have regular exposure to infected animals are at increased risk of infection and should take precautions.”
Twelve U.S. states have reported bird flu in dairy cows since March, which is when the virus first made the jump from birds to cows. Close to 100 million birds have been killed across 48 states since the start of the outbreak in 2022.