According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the child comes from Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has mild symptoms and recovering at home after treatment with antiviral drugs for influenza.
As a precautionary measure, the child's close family members as well as the nursery's employees and residents were examined. All the results turned out negative.
Bird flu in a child in the USA. The first such case
A test performed on the child initially detected low level of bird flu virus. This suggests that the child was probably not ill enough at the time of examination to infect others. Another test four days later gave the result negative.
– It's natural that people have concerns. Based on the information and data we have, we do not believe that the child can currently infect others, said CDPH director Tomas Aragon, adding that “in no country for over 15 years not recorded case of bird flu transmission from person to person.”
In an official statement, the department noted that in the rare cases of bird flu transmission between humans, the spread of the disease is usually limited to a small number of peoplewho have close contact with the infected person.
Bird flu epidemic. Virulent to birds and cattle
In March this year it was reported bird flu epidemic outbreak among birds and cows covering many states. It is highly a virulent form of the H5N1 disease. The increasing frequency and diversity of infections in mammals in recent years has raised concerns about the virus's ability to adapt and its potential for transmissibility. between species.
There are isolated and rare cases of bird flu in humans, but the sources of infection are unclear. They have both occurred in the past and the current outbreak is being monitored by public health officials from 2022.
“Including the last infection in a child, in 2024 in United States reported 55 H5N1 bird flu infections in humans, 29 of them in California,” the CDC said. The center argues that the risk to the general public is low, although it is higher for people who work directly with farm animals, including birds or cattle.