California health authorities reported this Tuesday about a possible case of bird flu in a child who had mild symptoms.
The boy lives in Alameda County, part of the San Francisco Bay Area, and tested positive for the virus despite having no known contact with an infected animal.
California Department of Public Health officials said in a news release that they are investigating whether the child may have been exposed to wild birds. The case is considered “possible” until the positive test is confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to the CDC, 53 people have been confirmed to have contracted bird flu in the United States this year. All but one were exposed to infected poultry or dairy cows.
The child experienced mild upper respiratory symptoms and is recovering at home after receiving treatment, the health department said. No person-to-person spread of the virus has been detected, and all of the child’s relatives tested negative. The child’s bird flu test four days after the positive result was negative.
bird flu has spread unchecked among poultry from 2022, in the worst outbreak of its kind the United States has suffered. More than 108 million birds have fallen ill or been euthanized. Cases in dairy cows began appearing in March and have since been reported in 15 states. Last month, the virus was detected for the first time in a pig.
Human cases – almost all among farmworkers – have been confirmed in seven states. Oregon reported its first human case last week. However, these infections remain rare, and health authorities maintain that the risk to the population is very low.
In the case of the California boy, tests for other respiratory viruses also came back positive at the same time, so health officials indicated those viruses could have caused the child’s symptoms.
It was confirmed that the Members of the child’s family had the same common respiratory virusesand are being treated with preventive medication, the authorities’ press release stated.
Health authorities informed other people who were in contact with the child and offered them preventative treatment and testing. The child went to daycare with mild symptoms, according to authorities.
Tomás Aragón, director of the state health department, said in a statement that he understands that the public may be concerned, but he reassured the population by saying that, “based on the information and data we have, we do not believe that the child was infectious, and no human-to-human transmission of avian flu has been documented in any country for more than 15 years.”
California accounts for the largest proportion of human cases of bird flu in the United States so far, with 27 confirmed, not counting the child in Alameda County. Washington has recorded 11 cases, and Colorado has 10. However, levels of testing and surveillance differ from state to state, which could explain some of the discrepancy.
In Canada, health authorities reported last week of first human case of bird flu in the countryin a teenager who was hospitalized and in critical condition. According to authorities, the young man was not exposed to farm animals, but was exposed to dogs, cats and reptiles.
