Update 11/22/24: The CDC has confirmed the child had H5N1 bird flu.
A child in California with mild respiratory symptoms is suspected to have bird flu, according to state health officials.
The child may have been exposed to wild birds, although an investigation is ongoing, officials said. The child is recovering at home.
Testing showed a low level of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will perform additional testing to confirm the results. The child also tested positive for other respiratory viruses.
State officials said no person-to-person spread has been detected. Family members tested negative for bird flu, and officials have reached out to the child’s contacts at child care as a precaution, although they do not believe the child was infectious.
California has had 27 confirmed cases of bird flu this year, all linked to cattle. Across the U.S., there have been 53 human cases this year. Most have been among farm workers and linked to exposure to cattle or poultry, but the source of a case in Missouri remains unknown. In addition to California, cases have been reported in Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
In Canada, a teenager recently was hospitalized in critical condition after contacting the country’s first case of bird flu and experiencing respiratory distress. The virus found in the teen is related to the H5N1 viruses from the ongoing outbreak in poultry in British Columbia.
U.S. officials classify the risk to public health as low but continue to monitor the situation. They have been working on plans to update bird flu vaccines in the event of a pandemic. Experts recommend avoiding contact with sick or dead animals, properly cooking poultry, eggs and beef, and not consuming raw or unpasteurized milk products.
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