The first minor case of bird flu in a California child has been reported in America.
The child displayed mild symptoms and was treated with antiviral medication and is recovering, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Friday.
There is no evidence of the virus spreading to other people and people in the child’s family who reported similar symptoms tested negative.
The child and household members tested positive for other common respiratory viruses.
It is unclear how the baby contracted the disease, according to health officials, who are investigating “possible exposure to wild birds.”
The CDC confirmed the child attends day care and lives in Alameda County, which includes Oakland and surrounding communities, but released no other details.
This brings the number of bird flu cases in the US this year to 55, including 29 cases in California. Most of the confirmed cases are among farmworkers who tested positive with mild symptoms — except for one adult in Missouri who had no known contact with an infected animal.
After the Missouri case, health officials confirmed there was no evidence of human-to-human spread.
The CDC says the risk to the general public is low.
Bird flu can cause a variety of symptoms in humans – ranging from no illness or mild illness to fatal.
No deaths have been recorded in the US.
Human infection occurs when the virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose, or mouth, or is inhaled.
Signs and symptoms
- Eye redness (conjunctivitis)
- mild flu-like upper respiratory symptoms
- Pneumonia requiring hospitalization
- Fever (temperature 100ºF (37.8ºC) or higher) or feeling feverish*
- cough
- sore throat
- runny or stuffy nose
- muscle or body pain
- Headache
- Tiredness
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
*fever may not always be present
Source: CDC
H5N1 bird flu is spreading rapidly among wild birds in the Americas and, in some cases, may spread to other animals.
The first known US case was recorded in April 2022 when a person in Colorado had direct contact with infected poultry. The second known case was reported this March in a dairy farm worker in Texas who contracted the disease from infected cattle.
The virus has killed at least 280 million poultry birds worldwide since 2021 and has caused the world’s largest sudden loss of wild birds in decades.
Experts have warned there is a critical need for more testing and training for farm workers to protect against the disease.
Canadian officials have said a British Columbia teenager was also recently hospitalized with bird flu.
(TagstoTranslate)US News(T)Bird Flu(T)California(T)CDC(T)Infections
