A California child was confirmed to be the first American child to become infected with bird flu, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday.
The CDC said the child, an Alameda County resident, tested positive for bird flu A, H5N1, after analysis by the California Department of Public Health.
The CDPH announced Tuesday that it had identified a possible case of bird flu in the child which showed a “low level of detection of the virus, indicating that the child was likely not contagious to others.” The child, whose age was not disclosed, had mild respiratory symptoms and recovered at home after being given antiviral drugs for the flu, the CDPH said.
A repeat bird flu test was conducted four days later and the child tested negative, officials said. Additional testing revealed that the child was positive for respiratory viruses that could be causing the cold and flu symptoms. California health officials were investigating the source of the child’s H5N1 exposure. The child had no known contact with an infected animal and health officials were investigating possible exposure to wild birds.
The CDPH investigation found that all household members reported having symptoms, but all tested negative for bird flu, while some tested positive for the same common respiratory viruses as the child.
The CDC said there is no evidence of person-to-person spread of bird flu from the child to anyone else, and to date, no person-to-person spread of bird flu has been detected in the reported cases of H5N1 bird flu. in the US There have been 55 human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the US, 29 of which were in Californiawhere widespread outbreaks have been detected in wild birds and domestic poultry since 2022 and in dairy herds since August 2024, the CDC said.
The child’s bird flu case in Alameda County was discovered through flu testing and reported to the CDPH through flu surveillance that the CDC conducts in collaboration with state and local health agencies and organizations. It was the second case of bird flu in the U.S. identified through the surveillance program.
Although the CDC’s risk assessment for the general public is low, people exposed to infected or potentially infected animals or environments contaminated by infected animals are at greater risk for infection.
Symptoms of bird flu in humans include redness or discharge from the eyes, coughing, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, diarrhea, vomiting, body aches, headache, fatigue, difficulty breathing, and fever.
