On Tuesday, California health officials announced that a toddler with moderate symptoms may have avian flu.
Despite having no known interaction with an infected animal, the child, who resides in Alameda County, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, tested positive for the virus.
In a news release, California Department of Public Health officials stated that they are looking into the possibility that the youngster was exposed to wild birds. Until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention certify the positive test, it is regarded as a potential case.
The CDC reports that 53 persons have been confirmed to have bird flu in the United States this year; all but one of them were exposed to contaminated poultry or dairy cows.
Following treatment, the child is recuperating at home from mild upper respiratory symptoms, according to the health department. All of the child’s relatives tested negative, and there has been no evidence of virus transmission from person to person. Four days after the positive result, the child’s avian flu test came back negative.
Since 2022, bird flu has been rife in poultry, the biggest outbreak the United States has ever seen. The number of unwell, killed, or culled birds has exceeded 108 million. Dairy cow cases started to appear in March and have since been documented in 15 states. Last month, the virus was discovered in a pig for the first time.
Seven states have confirmed cases involving individuals, almost all of whom are farmworkers. Last Monday, Oregon reported its first human case. However, these diseases are still uncommon, and health officials insist that there is very little risk to the general public.
According to health experts, the California child’s symptoms may have been brought on by other respiratory viruses, as tests for those viruses also tested positive at the same time.
According to the officials’ news release, the child’s relatives are receiving preventive treatment after it was established that they all have the same common respiratory viruses.
Health officials gave testing and preventive treatment and informed everyone else who had come into touch with the child. According to officials, the child had moderate symptoms when he or she visited daycare.
According to a statement from the state’s health department director, Tom S. Arag, “based on the information and data we have, we don’t think the child was infectious and no human-to-human spread of bird flu has been documented in any country for more than 15 years.” He acknowledged that people may be worried.
With 27 confirmed cases of human bird flu so far, excluding the child in Alameda County, California has the highest percentage of cases in the United States. Colorado has ten cases and Washington has eleven. However, testing and monitoring levels vary by state, which may account for some of the disparity.
The first human case of avian flu in Canada was reported by health officials last week, with a teenager hospitalized and in severe condition. According to officials, the teenager was around dogs, cats, and reptiles but had no exposure to agricultural animals.
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