Bird Flu Update as Virus Suspected in Four Washington Farmers

Four egg farm workers in Washington state have tested "presumptively positive" for bird flu.

This suspected outbreak in Franklin County marks the first time the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in humans in Washington. It is now the sixth U.S. state where humans have tested positive for this highly infectious strain of the virus.

Around 800,000 chickens at the same farm were euthanized after the Washington State Department of Agriculture found they had been infected by an outbreak of avian influenza on October 15.

Workers at the farm were subsequently tested, leading to four testing "presumptively positive" for the virus, the Washington State Department of Health said.

"Washington has monitored the spread of H5N1 closely since it was first detected in poultry in the state in 2022, and our state is prepared with the knowledge, relationships, and tools to minimize its impacts on our community," Washington Secretary of Health Umair Shah said in a Washington State Health Department statement.

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