California Child Tests Positive for Bird Flu

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A child in California has tested positive for bird flu, despite having no known contact with infected animals, state officials reported Tuesday.

“California has identified a possible bird flu case in a child in Alameda County who was tested for mild upper respiratory symptoms. The child, who has been treated, is recovering at home,” the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said in a news release.

While the patient had no known contact with an infected animal, health officials are investigating a possible exposure to wild birds, the CDPH added.

Importantly, “the positive test showed a low-level detection of the virus, indicating the child was not likely infectious to others,” they noted. “Repeat bird flu testing on the child four days later was negative, and additional testing shows the child was also positive for respiratory viruses that could be the cause of their cold and flu symptoms. The test specimens are being sent to CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] for confirmatory testing.”

Even as the case was reported, state officials stressed the public health risk remained low.

“It”s natural for people to be concerned, and we want to reinforce for parents, caregivers and families that 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,” said CDPH Director Dr. Tomás Aragón.

So far this year, 53 people have been confirmed to have bird flu in the United States, according to the CDC; all but one had been exposed to infected poultry or dairy cows.

In the California case, no person-to-person spread of the virus has been detected and the child”s family members all tested negative.

Bird flu has been spreading in poultry since 2022, and cases in dairy cows began to crop up in March. The virus was discovered in a pig for the first time last month.

Bird flu infections in people — nearly all among farmworkers — have now been confirmed in seven states, with Oregon reporting its first human case last week.

California accounts for the largest share of human bird flu cases in the country, with 27 confirmed infections, not counting the child in Alameda County. Washington has recorded 11 cases, and Colorado 10, CDC data shows.

Earlier this month, Canadian officials announced that a teen in British Columbia had been hospitalized in critical condition with what is believed to be bird flu.