An Alameda County child with mild upper respiratory symptoms tested positive for bird flu, state public health officials announced today. The potential infection is the first known case in California that does not appear to have originated from contact with infected cattle.
State health officials are waiting for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the test result.
Public health investigators suspect the infection may have originated from wild birds, which are the main carriers of bird flu, according to a statement from the California Department of Public Health. The agency did not disclose information describing the child’s interactions with wildlife.
The child displayed mild respiratory symptoms and tested positive for multiple viruses, according to Austin Wingate, a spokesperson for the Alameda County health department.
Doctors did not initially suspect bird flu. Officials detected it through routine influenza subtyping, Wingate said. Family members tested negative for bird flu, but they had other viruses.
Officials are working to notify and test close contacts of the child, which include individuals at a daycare the child attended.
“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 state Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón said in a statement.
Aragón emphasized the risk to the general public remains low. People can become infected through close contact with infected animals, according to the CDC. Dairy and poultry…
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