In abstract
Hen flu has been spreading amongst dairy staff in California’s Central Valley, leaping from cows to folks. A brand new suspected case within the Bay Space got here from an unknown supply.
An Alameda County baby with gentle higher respiratory signs examined constructive for fowl flu, state public well being officers introduced at this time. The potential an infection is the primary recognized case in California that doesn’t seem to have originated from contact with contaminated cattle.
State well being officers are ready for the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention to substantiate the check consequence.
Public well being investigators suspect the an infection might have originated from wild birds, that are the primary carriers of fowl flu, in response to a press release from the California Division of Public Well being. The company didn’t disclose info describing the kid’s interactions with wildlife.
The kid displayed gentle respiratory signs and examined constructive for a number of viruses, in response to Austin Wingate, a spokesperson for the Alameda County well being division.
Docs didn’t initially suspect fowl flu. Officers detected it by means of routine influenza subtyping, Wingate mentioned. Members of the family examined unfavourable for fowl flu, however they’d different viruses.
Officers are working to inform and check shut contacts of the kid, which embrace people at a daycare the kid attended.
“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,” mentioned state Public Well being Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón mentioned in a press release.
Aragón emphasised the danger to most of the people stays low. Folks can change into contaminated by means of shut contact with contaminated animalsin response to the CDC. Dairy and poultry staff and individuals who work with wildlife face the best danger of contracting the virus.
Some infectious illness consultants are involved about what this case might sign concerning the wider fowl flu outbreak sweeping the nationwhich began in 2022.
“We’re seeing the numbers go up, the number of infected farms, the number of farm workers, we now have this child. All of these signs to me suggest that things are going in the wrong direction, not the right direction,” mentioned Sam Scarpino, an epidemiologist with Northeastern College in Boston who will not be concerned within the California illness investigation.
Instances spreading in Central Valley dairies
The case comes as California grapples with the nation’s largest fowl flu outbreak amongst cattle and farmworkers. There are 26 confirmed human instances of fowl flu primarily within the Central Valley the place the virus has swept by means of 335 herdsin response to state well being and agriculture officers. Staff within the dairy trade have contracted the virus by means of shut contact with contaminated cows.
The state well being division has distributed greater than 3 million items of non-public protecting tools to farmworkers. It has additionally secured 5,000 doses of the seasonal flu vaccine for farmworkers from the CDC.
The federal authorities has a small stockpile of fowl flu vaccines, however they haven’t been distributed. As an alternative, well being officers encourage folks to get vaccinated for influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus to assist forestall co-infections just like the baby had.
“We want to make sure in general that we promote people getting up to date on vaccines and protecting themselves from seasonal illness, from seasonal flu,” mentioned Dr. Erica Pan, the state’s prime epidemiologist, in a earlier interview with CalMatters.
Scarpino mentioned California has carried out a superb job of testing farmworkers in comparison with different states the place sick cattle have contaminated people, contributing to its comparatively excessive variety of confirmed instances, however surveillance efforts throughout the board must be elevated.
As seasonal flu charges enhance, it would change into more durable for public well being laboratories to detect uncommon viruses, reminiscent of H5N1, the fowl flu, Scarpino mentioned.
Hen flu current in California sewage
The fowl flu virus has appeared in 17 wastewater methods in California, in response to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. Constructive detections seem primarily in Northern California together with in Alameda, San Francisco, Sonoma, Contra Costa and Sacramento. Wastewater surveillance can’t decide the supply of the virus, however infections amongst wild waterfowl can contribute to its presence.
Maurice Pitesky, a researcher at UC Davis who research fowl flu in waterfowl, mentioned it’s uncommon for the virus to leap from birds to people, however it has occurred earlier than. The virus is endemic amongst wild birds, Pitesky mentioned, and has additionally been detected in different mammals in Californiatogether with bobcats, skunks and mountain lions.
“As the virus further evolves within a mammalian host — whether it’s dairy cows, or felines, or all the species that it has affected — it will continue to adapt,” Pitesky mentioned. “As it adapts more and more it has more potential to cause even more problems.”
Supported by the California Well being Care Basis (CHCF), which works to make sure that folks have entry to the care they want, after they want it, at a worth they will afford. Go to www.chcf.org to study extra.
