What to know
- Presentation Day/Time: Friday, April 25, 2:55–4:00 pm
- Presenter: Julia Bennett, PhD, MSPH, EIS officer assigned to the National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce
What did we do?
- In January 2025, health and agricultural officials initiated a One Health genomic epidemiology response and investigated a commercial poultry facility in Washington that experienced it’s third highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 poultry outbreak to determine possible HPAI H5N1 virus transmission from poultry to agricultural workers in the facility.
What did we find?
- This facility experienced HPAI H5N1 poultry outbreaks in December 2022 (0 human infections), October 2024 (14 human infections), and January 2025 (0 human infections).
- During the January 2025 outbreak, 83 persons were monitored for symptoms and 54 (65%) completed an online questionnaire ≥1 time.
- During January 25–February 17, 2025, three persons with mild conjunctivitis tested negative for H5N1; public health clinicians also noted skin irritation around the eyes and suspected these symptoms were the result of irritation from goggles and disinfectant used on goggles during PPE doffing.
- Health and agricultural officials conducted multiple on-site visits and observed markedly improved PPE adherence, compared with the earlier outbreak in October 2024, during which depopulation began without consistent goggle use.
Why does it matter?
- This facility experienced another HPAI H5N1 poultry outbreak within 4 months of a previous outbreak.
- Coordinated efforts of multiple agencies to improve PPE availability and adherence might have contributed to no human infections being identified in the January 2025 outbreak, compared with 14 identified human infections during the October 2024 outbreak.
Abstract Category: Avian Flu