(Bloomberg) -- A child in California has tested positive for bird flu, and is recovering at home with mild upper respiratory tract symptoms, state health officials said.
Samples are being sent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to confirm the diagnosis, the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. There is no evidence of human-to-human spread of the virus, the state agency said.
Concerns about bird flu have risen as the H5N1 strain of the virus has spread throughout US poultry and dairy farms. While most human infections of bird flu continue to be in farm workers exposed to infected animals, health officials are on the watch for any indications of spread among humans.
The child didn’t have any known contact with an infected animal, the state officials said, and they’re investigating whether there was any exposure to wild birds. The child also was infected with other respiratory viruses that could have caused the symptoms, the state agency said, and the risk to the public remains low.
The CDC is waiting for the sample to arrive and will provide updates on testing, according to a statement.
The H5N1 bird flu strain has appeared in more than 500 dairy herds in 15 states this year. There have been 53 cases in humans, and all but one of them has been traced to back to exposure to infected animals.
--With assistance from Rthvika Suvarna.
(Updates with additional background from third paragraph.)
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