First recent US case of human bird flu confirmed in Colorado

By DAVID PITT
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The federal government says a Colorado state prison inmate is the first person to have tested positive for bird flu in the latest outbreak in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the inmate had been on a prerelease employment assignment removing chickens from an infected farm. The CDC says he tested positive for the same variant of the virus that has spread in commercial and backyard flocks this spring in 29 states. The agency says the man reported fatigue for a few days but has recovered. The CDC still considers the threat to the general public to be low because spread of the virus to people requires close contact with an infected bird.