Health officials on Friday confirmed bird flu in a California child – the first reported case in a child in the US.
The child had mild symptoms, was treated with antibiotics, and is recovering, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in announcing the test results. State officials said the child attends preschool and lives in Alameda County, which includes Oakland and surrounding communities, but did not release other details.
The disease brings the reported number of bird flu cases in the US this year to 55, including 29 in California, the CDC said. Most were farm workers who tested positive for mild symptoms.
The exception was an elderly Missourian who did not work on a farm and had no known contact with an infected animal. It is still a mystery how the person became infected.
Health officials said there is no evidence that it has spread among people.
A British Columbia teenager was also recently hospitalized with bird flu, Canadian officials said.
H5N1 bird flu has been spreading in the US among wild birds, poultry and other animals for the past few years.
It first spread to American dairy cows in March. California has become the epicenter of the outbreak, with 402 infected herds since August. That’s 65 percent of the 616 herds confirmed with the virus in 15 states.
Officials said they are still investigating how the child became infected. California health officials previously said in a statement that they are looking into “possible exposure to wild birds.”
There is no evidence of bird flu passing from a child to other people.
Family members of the child reported having similar symptoms but their test results were negative for bird flu. Health officials noted that the child and family members are also being tested for other common respiratory viruses.
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