The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is deploying teams to Washington state to assess the health of farm workers who culled poultry suffering from bird flu after four workers are suspected to have been infected by the H5N1 virus, US health officials said. If confirmed, the infections would make Washington the sixth state to identify human cases this year.

The cases are raising concern among experts, even as infections such as avian flu infection in dairy cattle and farm workers have worried scientists and federal officials about the risks to humans.

After California, where four cases of bird flu were reported earlier this month, experts are now seeking to administer seasonal flu vaccines to farm workers to reduce their risk of being infected with both bird flu and seasonal influenza.

According to experts, infections with both types of viruses increase the risk of bird flu spreading easily among people and potentially causing a pandemic. “We don’t have evidence yet of transmission between people,” said Roberto Bonaccorso, spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Health.

The CDC says it is waiting for confirmation from the specimens and is sending a team to Washington to support the state’s assessment of farm workers, an agency spokesperson said. Even though the risk to the public from the outbreak in cattle remains low, the CDC says those with exposure to infected animals are at heightened risk.

According to the state health department, those suspected to be infected were working at an egg farm and their use of protective gear has been erratic. The workers are said to be suffering from mild breathing issues along with conjunctivitis—a common sign of bird flu and have been given antiviral medication.

The health department says the workers were removing carcasses and litter and cleaning facilities where about 800,000 chickens were culled. According to Washington's agriculture department, the farm was hit by a strain of the virus from wild birds.

More than 27 people have so far tested positive for the virus this year, however, except for one all others had known exposure to infected poultry or dairy cattle.

More than 100 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds in the US have been eliminated by the virus since the nation’s outbreak began in 2022.

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