Workers’ Resistance To Testing May Result In An Undercount Of Human Bird Flu Cases In California

Since early October, bird flu has infected 15 dairy farm workers in California, where the virus has rapidly spread since August to more than 130 dairy herds. 

Reports indicate that California farm workers exhibiting symptoms similar to bird flu have refrained from getting tested due to concerns about potential mandatory home isolation without pay. 

Elizabeth Strater, the national vice president of the United Farm Workers labor union, highlighted this issue, stressing the challenges faced by these workers in accessing prompt medical care and support.

“There is a very significant undercount of cases”

Strater said “There is a very significant undercount of cases because we don’t have a way to monitor who is sick because workers are unwilling to test,”

Strater continued, Fever and conjunctivitis, which are symptoms of human cases of the virus, are not severe enough to risk the loss of income. 

The California Department of Public Health advises people who test positive for bird flu to be in isolation until public health officials have concluded they are no longer a spread danger.

“People that have milder symptoms may not be coming forward for testing”

California’s state epidemiologist, Erica Pan, admitted that there may be an undercount among employees.

Pan said “People that have milder symptoms may not be coming forward for testing,”

In the Central Valley of California, where the majority of the cases have occurred, the state is collaborating with a bilingual team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to look into viral infections in humans, Pan continued.

According to a California Department of Industrial Relations spokeswoman, farm workers who get avian flu while on the job are entitled to worker’s compensation. 

The CDC is investing $5 million to promote the seasonal flu vaccine to farm workers in an effort to lower the possibility that a worker may have both seasonal flu and bird flu at the same time, which could result in virus changes that could make it easier for the virus to spread.

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