The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Nov. 22 the first case of avian influenza in a child in the United States.
According to the CDC’s announcement, the child had mild symptoms and was given antiviral treatment. The first test showed a small amount of the virus, while follow-up tests showed no signs but detected cold viruses.
The CDPH is investigating how the child was infected and said that the child had no known contact with a sick animal. They are investigating if the child was in the proximity of wild birds.
The department tested everyone in the child’s family who felt sick. While none had bird flu, some had the same cold viruses as the child.
The agency said California has had many bird flu cases in wild birds and farm chickens since 2022 and in dairy cows since August this year.
The CDC says the risk for most people to catch the virus is low. However, people working with or around infected animals, such as birds, dairy cows, or other farm animals, are more likely to become sick.
This new case brings the total number of bird flu cases in people in the United States to 55 in 2024, with 29 in California. Most of these people got sick from being around infected dairy cows and usually only had mild symptoms.
Dr. Tomás Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer, said there shouldn’t be cause for worry regarding the child’s infection.
“It’s natural for people to be concerned, and 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,” he said.
The CDPH said it’s rare for humans to get bird flu, and it has never spread between people in the United States. In the few cases where it did overseas, it only affected a few relatives or friends of the sick person.
Bird flu can cause mild cold-like symptoms, and severe cases are rare, according to the CDC.
