California’s Human Bird Flu Cases Jumps to 13: CDC

Cows at a dairy in California on Nov. 23, 2016. Rich Pedroncelli/AP

The number of human bird flu cases in California jumped to 13, the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Oct. 18.

All of those sickened with the virus in the state were farm workers who had been exposed to bird flu-infected dairy cows, the CDC reported.

“All available data so far suggests sporadic instances of animal-to-human spread,” the CDC wrote in an update on Friday.

California health officials are tracking the state’s bird flu cases and have found no evidence that the virus can spread between people, according to the agency.

According to the CDC, the state’s Department of Public Health is taking a proactive approach by monitoring hundreds of workers in affected counties. Those who develop symptoms are being tested.

All people with confirmed or possible bird flu in the state have had mild symptoms, including eye redness or discharge, and have been treated according to CDC guidance.

No one had to be hospitalized as a result of the virus in California as of Oct. 14.

The state and the CDC have also deployed a multilingual field team to help spread information to workers about how the outbreak began and how to lower the risk of exposure.

The federal workers involved in the program are using Facebook, Instagram, and Pandora to spread information to farm workers, as well as running advertisements on local radio stations, according to the CDC.

Bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in U.S. poultry, dairy cows, and humans who are in contact with these infected animals.

Since April, the CDC has confirmed bird flu infections in 27 people living in the United States.

Of those, nine of the people infected were exposed to infected poultry, and 17 were exposed to sick or infected dairy cows.

A line of Holstein dairy cows feed through a fence at a dairy farm in Idaho on March 11, 2009. Charlie Litchfield/AP Photo

On the animal side, the virus is spreading in California’s dairy cows more than in any other state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed 97 of the state’s dairy cows herds have been infected in the last 30 days.

The USDA also reported 320 dairy herds in 14 states have been infected with bird flu.

“The number of affected herds continues to grow nationally, with almost all new infections identified in herds in California,” the CDC wrote in Friday’s update.

The CDC recommends people avoid exposure to sick or dead animals, including wild birds, poultry, and other domesticated birds or animals, including cows, if possible.

They should also avoid exposure to animal waste, bedding, raw milk, or other materials touched by or near birds or other animals that might have the bird flu virus.