Bird flu on the radar for Pitkin County
With no escalation of cases, it still remains something local officials are thinking about
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
H5N1, also known as avian influenza or bird flu, continues to be a concern in Pitkin County despite not yet having any human-confirmed cases.
“I always have concerns about novel flu strains, and H5N1 just continues to be top of the list,” said Pitkin County Public Health Epidemiologist Carly Senst.
Detections have been occurring in wild birds, domestic poultry, and cattle in Colorado, according to Senst, although she confirmed there haven’t been any alarming signals in the wastewater that Colorado monitors for H5.
Dr. Catherine Bernard, chief medical officer at Aspen Valley Health, said that they have started tracking H5N1 more locally.
“Avian influenza has been one of (the concerns) over the past year,” Bernard said. “We have followed along with that closely.”
Senst did note that the flow of information related to H5N1 across the U.S. has been slowing due to federal staffing cuts at a number of agencies responsible for tracking the virus, including the Federal Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“But in the midst of lack of actionable knowledge around H5N1 and no indication that it is escalating, we are focusing our efforts on known risks for the county and community over the summer, in particular other zoonotics like rabies and plague,” she said.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Northwest Region Public Information Officer Rachael Gonzales has confirmed that budget cuts have not yet affected the northwest region’s ability to test bird cases submitted to the Wildlife Health Laboratory. There have also been no positive test results since the end of April.
“We’re still always concerned about emerging viral illnesses,” Bernard said. “But I think we feel very prepared for H5N1.”
She encourages all community members to take precautions when sick, which means washing hands, covering mouths, getting immunizations, and staying home.
“It’s really just about doing all the things we can do to protect ourselves,” she said.
