Child in California is presumed to have H5N1 bird flu, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH).
By December 23, there were 36 confirmed cases of human infection bird flu in the state, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
This represents more than half of human cases in the country.
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The last pediatric patient, who lives in San Francisco, had a fever and conjunctivitis (pink eye) as a result of the infection.
The unnamed patient was not hospitalized and has made a full recovery, according to the SFDPH.
A child in California is believed to have H5N1 bird flu, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health. (iStock)
The child was positive for bird flu in the Public Health Laboratory SFDPH. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will perform additional tests to confirm the result.
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It is not yet known how the child is doing exposed to the virus and the investigation is ongoing.
“I want to assure everyone in our city that the risk to the general public is low and that there is currently no evidence that the virus can be transmitted between people,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of health, in a press release.
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“We will continue to investigate this probable case and I urge all San Francisco residents to avoid direct contact with sick or dead birds, especially wild birds and poultry. Also, please avoid unpasteurized dairy products.”
Samuel Scarpino, Director of AI and Life Sciences and Professor health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, calls for “decisive action” to protect individuals who may be in contact with infected livestock and also to warn the public about the risks associated with wild birds and infected backyard flocks.
An infectious disease expert has called for “decisive action” to warn the public about the risks associated with wild birds and infected backyard flocks. (iStock)
“While I agree that the risk to the general public remains low, we continue to see signs of escalating risk associated with this outbreak,” he told Fox News Digital.
Experts have warned that the possibility of mutation in the virus could make it possible person-to-person transmission.
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“Although the H5N1 virus is currently thought to be transmitted only from animals to humans, multiple mutations that may enhance human-to-human transmission have been observed in a severely ill American,” Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotech company. company, he told Fox News Digital.
As of January 10, there were a total of 707 infected cattle in California, according to reports from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. (iStock)
“This underscores the need for vigilance and preparedness in case additional mutations create an infection that is transmissible to humans pandemic strain.”
As of January 10, there were a total of 707 infected cattle in California, according to reports from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
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In the last 30 days alone, the virus has been confirmed in 84 dairy farms in the country.
