With more reported cases of bird flu, health authorities say hotter temperatures are getting in the way of efforts to cut down on transmission among livestock workers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed four news cases and one presumptive case in Colorado among farmworkers at a commercial egg layer operation.
These new infections in Colorado have brought the national number of bird flu cases up to eight since March.
Eric Deeble, deputy undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), said in a briefing Tuesday that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Agriculture was instituting “enhanced PPE protocols” with the input of his agency.
CDC Principal Deputy Director Nirav Shah noted that factors like heat and the industrial fans used in barns are making PPE use among farmworkers “not optimal” at an impacted poultry facility in Weld County, Colo., where depopulation efforts are ongoing.
“The workers were finding it hard to maintain a good seal or a good fit, either between the mask or with eye protection,” said Shah.
“That's a tradeoff that always exists with PPE, balancing the need to maintain safety,” he added. “In this case, safety from the virus as well as safety from the extreme heat in the conditions they were in.”
Julie Gauthier, executive director for field operations at the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said, “The team out there is trying to find other solutions to improve their ability to keep their PPE on their faces.”
Roughly 160 people at the Colorado farm are working on poultry culling efforts, which are expected to continue for the next 10 to 14 days.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
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Mind the Gap: The Cost of Mental Health Disparities | July 24 in Washington, D.C. | In person & streaming nationally
This July, in honor of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, please join The Hill as we convene a diverse group of administration officials, lawmakers, medical providers and advocates to discuss the impact of mental health inequities in the United States.
Speakers include:
Daniel Dawes, founding dean, Meharry School of Global Health
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Despite bird flu anxiety in the dairy barn, a yearly tradition carries on at an Iowa county fair (Stat)
Cigarette tax collections in Ky. dropped after the last two tax increases; the state’s smoking rate has also been on the decline (Kentucky Health News)
Oregon Health Authority needs more language and behavioral health services, report says (Oregon Capitol Chronicle)
What We're Reading
Health news we've flagged from other outlets:
Amazon’s health clinic pushed a misleading account of call center errors (The Washington Post)
Rural hospitals built during baby boom now face baby bust (KFF Health News)
Increased abortion restrictions complicate training, stoke worries about next generation of OB-GYNs (North Carolina Health News)
Former President Trump and President Biden seemed to be sharing similar messages on Sunday. Just minutes after Biden finished remarks on the attempt … Read more
Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Monday she thinks Judge Aileen Cannon’s dismissal of former President Trump’s classified documents case could … Read more
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