First potential case of avian influenza being investigated in Franklin County

The first possible human avian influenza infection might be in Washington after the State Department of Health (DOH) announced it is investigating an illness that has spread among multiple agriculture workers in Franklin County.

According to the DOH, four agriculture workers at a poultry farm in Franklin County showed signs of sickness and were being treated with anti-viral medication.

“We are confirming that four agricultural workers have tested presumptively positive for avian influenza,” Secretary of Health for Washington, Doctor Umair Shah, told KIRO Newsradio on Monday.

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The DOH stated the cases are under investigation.

“These are the first presumed human cases of H5 virus under investigation in Washington state,” the DOH wrote in a press release. “The cases took place at a farm that was the site of an avian influenza outbreak in chickens. Approximately 800,000 birds were euthanized after test results by the Washington State Department of Agriculture on Oct. 15 showed that they were infected with avian influenza.”

Avian influenza is a disease caused by avian influenza Type A viruses that naturally occur in wild aquatic birds worldwide. H5N1 viruses can also infect other species of birds — and occasionally mammals — and can cause significant mortality in poultry species, including chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese and guinea fowl.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is also involved in confirming whether it is avian influenza. If confirmed, Washington would be the sixth state to find the H5N1 infection in humans.

“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,” said Washington Secretary of Health Umair Shah M.D., MPH.

However, Shah said there is no evidence at this time of human-to-human spread.

The DOH, with assistance from the Benton-Franklin Health District (BFHD), has provided personal protective equipment to workers on the farm and is monitoring any exposed workers for symptoms of avian influenza. Testing, vaccines and treatment for symptomatic workers has been made readily available.

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Avian influenza viruses can infect people and make them sick on rare occasions. Most instances of people becoming infected with avian influenza have happened after prolonged, close contact with animals also infected with avian influenza.

However, Doctor Amber Itle with the Washington State Department of Agriculture stressed eggs are safe.

“Your eggs are safe and your poultry is safe as well,” she said. “So no birds that are infected or have been infected are entering the food chain.”

Anyone who has worked on a poultry farm in Benton or Franklin County since Oct. 7 is asked to call (509) 460-4550 if they experience any symptoms such as red eyes or respiratory infection.

Contributing: Heather Bosch, KIRO Newsradio

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.