CALIFORNIA – The CDC has confirmed that a child has contracted bird flu H5N1 infection. This marks the first reported avian influenza H5 virus infection in a child in the United States this year.
The child reportedly experienced mild symptoms and received flu medication and initial testing showed low levels of viral materials and later testing was negative for H5 bird flu.
The CDC said that testing confirmed the child was positive for other common respiratory viruses.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is investigating the child’s possible exposure to bird flu and all of the child’s household members were tested but received negative results.
Contact tracing is ongoing, but there is no evidence of person-to-person spread of bird flu from this child.
This case was detected through influenza testing and reported to CDPH via influenza surveillance. It is the second U.S. case identified through national surveillance.
The CDC says they will to monitor data especially in states like California where outbreaks in wild birds, domestic poultry and dairy herds have not been found since 2022.
