Northern Colorado agriculture workers meet with Sen. John Hickenlooper to discuss avian flu

Avian flu continues to impact agriculture workers and their operations, causing some companies in Northern Colorado to spend millions of dollars to combat further spread. 

On Monday morning, local agriculture leaders, experts and more gathered with Sen. John Hickenlooper to discuss how the avian flu continues to impact Northern Colorado and beyond.

"We have seen an outbreak of this rapidly transmitted poultry virus," Hickenlooper said.

While meeting with the panel at a Colorado State University facility, Hickenlooper learned the avian flu not only causes birds to get sick, but also humans and more.

"We have this virus in poultry; now, it looks like it can be transmitted to cattle," Hickenlooper said.

Among the panel speaking with Hickenlooper was Ted Greidanus, executive vice president of Opal Foods.

"It is devastating," Greidanus said. "We've been impacted in the last two years now three times with high path (avian flu) in our facility in Weld County."

Greidanus said his company has been forced to euthanize millions of birds in Weld County alone in recent years after the avian flu made its way into their facility.

"That is 100% of the birds on that farm," Greidanus said.

It is suspected that a majority of avian flu cases are caused by humans bringing the virus into facilities through their feet after stepping in infected bird feces from outside.

Once birds contract avian flu, they must be euthanized.

Opal Foods had to spend more than $10 million to depopulate, clean, repopulate and return its Weld County operation back to production.

Those on the panel also discussed how the flu has transferred to the dairy farms as well, noting that it could be through employees who work in both environments.

Some local dairy farm workers have been working to bolster their herd's immune systems in preparation for when the avian flu arrives.

Fortunately, for humans, the symptoms of avian flu are often mild.

"It's been devastating and very virulent when it goes from the dairy to the poultry, now," Greidanus said.

"It is a great urgency that we prevent that infection from occurring," Hickenlooper said. "Colorado already has begun isolating herds and whole buildings with poultry, and looking at how it is communicated."

Greidanus and others on the panel said they also have suspicions that the avian flu can be transmitted through particles in the air. Although they said they do not have current scientific proof, some said basic observations would suggest it may be possible.

Greidanus said one example is at one of their facilities, where the birds are separated throughout many buildings. He said, in one situation, the birds in the middle building were getting avian flu; however, the previous buildings in which other birds are in were not seeing issues with the virus. The staff would've walked through the prior buildings before getting to the middle building, suggesting the virus has another way of getting in.

Opal Foods is now investing around $1 million in air filtration systems in their Weld County facility in hope that it will also help prevent any possible spread of the flu.

Hickenlooper said Colorado can lead the nation in finding solutions through conversations like the one held at CSU.

"We have this reliable abundant source of poultry and eggs, but nothing is always safe," Hickenlooper said. "It's a team effort, and it was great to see everyone here working together."