Bird Flu Confirmed in Hawaii as US Cases Climb

Hawaii has reported an avian influenza outbreak among domesticated birds, joining a number of other U.S. states that have seen millions of birds infected over the past weeks.
The agency, which operates under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said it was working closely with state officials for a joint incident response effort.
“This is the first case of HPAI in domestic birds in Hawaii during this outbreak, which began in February 2022,” the statement said.
At the time, the birds did not show any signs of infection. Symptoms were only detected several days after the fair was over and as such, the agency sees a low potential of avian flu spreading to humans.
“However, out of an abundance of caution, DOH recommends that individuals who attended the fair and touched a duck or goose monitor for influenza-like illness (ILI) and conjunctivitis (pink eye) symptoms,” the department said.
If anyone displays symptoms of avian flu, they should be isolated at home, it added. Symptoms typically emerge 2-5 days after getting exposed to infected animals and include sore throat, cough, and fever. Sometimes, symptoms can take longer, like 10 days, to emerge.
Other states that have reported outbreaks since last week are Alaska, Illinois, South Dakota, Washington, Minnesota, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, and Montana.
The largest of these cases was in Utah, where an outbreak affected 37,500 birds. The second biggest was in Illinois, with 5,600 cases, followed by Montana, with 280 infected birds. In all other cases, the number of affected birds was in double digits or lower.
APHIS also said that wild birds can be infected with HPAI and show no signs of illness.
In 21 of these incidents, infected poultry was the source of the infection, while in 30 cases, it was dairy cows.
California had the most number of cases with 27 infections, followed by Washington with 11, Colorado 10, and Michigan registering two incidents. Missouri, Oregon, and Texas saw one infection each.
“These farm workers all described mild symptoms, many with eye redness or discharge (conjunctivitis). Some workers who tested positive in Washington reported some mild upper respiratory symptoms. None of the workers were hospitalized,” the CDC said.
The minor, from Alameda County, has been treated and is currently recovering, the agency said. The child is not known to have come into contact with any infected animal. Officials are looking at wild birds as a potential source of exposure.
All family members were tested, with everyone testing negative.
“It’s natural for people to be concerned, and we want to reinforce for parents, caregivers, and families that based on the information and data we have, we don’t think the child was infectious—and no human-to-human spread of bird flu has been documented in any country for more than 15 years,” said Dr. Tomas Aragon, state public health officer and director of CDPH.