The California Department of Public Health has reported a probable case of H5N1 avian flu in Alameda County. This child had presented with mild upper respiratory symptoms. The child, who hasn’t been confirmed as having contact with infected animals, is recovering at home.
While preliminary tests were positive for the virus, subsequent tests, conducted four days later, were negative for avian influenza and indicated that the child was not symptomatic. Other respiratory viruses are also detected, which may be sufficient to explain the symptoms.
If confirmed, this would mark the second case of avian influenza in a child in North America, with an unknown source of infection. A similar case was reported last week involving a critically ill teenager in British Columbia, Canada. In the United States, it would be the second avian flu infection this year in an individual with no known direct exposure to infected farm animals, the first of which was reported in Missouri in August. The Alameda County case happens at a time when outbreaks are on the rise along the Pacific flyway, where migratory birds are carrying the virus. California is continuing its investigations in outbreaks at dairy farms in the Central Valley. The child’s samples have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for further confirmation. While other family members of the child showed mild symptoms, they all tested positive for other common respiratory viruses, instead of avian influenza.
The child had attended daycare while symptomatic, prompting local health officials to offer preventive treatment and avian flu testing to those in contact with the child. CDPH officials have emphasized that no human-to-human transmission of bird flu has been documented for over 15 years, reassuring the public that the risk of broader transmission remains low.
