A child who visited Marin County during Thanksgiving week is being tested for a possible infection of H5N1, the bird flu.
Marin’s public health officer, Dr. Lisa Santora, said the child tested positive for influenza type A at a hospital. The type A category includes bird flu. The child had been visiting from out of state for the holiday.
“Additional local and state testing was unable to confirm if a seasonal flu or avian flu subtypes,” Santora said.
The staff submitted a specimen from the patient to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. The county expects to receive the test results by the end of the week, Santora said Monday.
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H5N1, which typically infects poultry flocks and wild birds, has been transmitted to at least 58 people in the United States this year, according to the CDC. Thirty-two cases have been reported in California.
A human case of H5N1 was reported in Alameda County last month. Authorities do not know the patient’s source of exposure, the Marin County public health staff reported.
Symptoms of the virus in human cases include eye redness, mild flu-like symptoms, fever, pneumonia, fatigue and breathing difficulties, the CDC says.
Marin County’s public health staff reported that H5N1 has been detected in wild birds, poultry and wastewater in Marin. Last month, the staff started investigating “presumptive” positive test results at a poultry farm.
H5N1 outbreaks prompted the euthanization of 1.2 million birds by commercial producers in Sonoma County last year, officials said
Santora said H5N1 passed from birds to cattle this year.
“We’re not seeing the same level of severity in cows themselves,” she said.
Cows can be quarantined and returned to milk production after their infectious period ends, she said.
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In late November, the California Department of Public Health advised the public not to consume raw milk products after H5N1 was detected in bulk milk and retail samples at a raw milk processing facility.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered H5N1 testing in the nation’s milk supply this month.
“This will give farms and farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus’ spread nationwide,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
Santora said her staff’s primary concern is dairy and poultry workers in Marin County.
“Just like any viral transmission, having enhanced hand hygiene is an important factor,” she said.
Santora added that dairy and poultry farmers are also being encouraged to watch for potential H5N1 illnesses.
“Early detection is the key for farms to identify sick animals and quarantine them as soon as possible to minimize any harm to the animals,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
