California health officials investigating bird flu infection in child

California health officials have identified a possible bird flu case in a child who was tested for mild upper respiratory symptoms, the state Department of Public Health announced Tuesday.

The child had no known contact with an infected animal, the agency said, but public health experts are investigating a possible exposure to wild birds.

Human infections with bird flu viruses are rare, and no person-to-person spread has been detected in California or the United States.

Since early October, California has reported 26 confirmed human cases of bird flu, all following direct contact with infected dairy cows. To date, all have reported mild symptoms—mostly conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye — and none have been hospitalized.

State officials said they are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate the cause of the initial positive test in the child, and samples have been sent to CDC for confirmatory testing.

The positive test showed a low-level detection of the virus, indicating the child was not likely infectious to others. Other family members showed mild respiratory symptoms, but all were negative for bird flu and were not suspected of having the virus at all, officials said.

Repeat bird flu testing on the child four days later was negative, and additional testing showed the child was also positive for respiratory viruses that could be the cause of cold and flu symptoms.

Public health officials said that the child attended daycare with mild symptoms before the test was reported as a possible bird flu infection. Local public health officials have reached out to potentially exposed caregivers and families as an abundance of caution to conduct health checks for symptoms and offer connections to preventive treatment and testing if they develop symptoms.

“It's natural for people to be concerned, and 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," California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer Tomás Aragón said in a statement.