Alameda County child believed to be latest case of bird flu; source unknown

California wellness officials reported Tuesday that a kid successful Alameda County tested affirmative for H5N1 vertebrate flu past week.

The root of corruption is not known — though wellness officials are looking into imaginable interaction with chaotic birds — and the kid is recovering astatine location with mild precocious respiratory symptoms.

The kid was treated with antiviral medication, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the findings Friday.

The archetypal trial showed debased levels of the microorganism and, according to the authorities wellness agency, investigating 4 days aboriginal showed nary virus.

“The much cases we find that person nary known vulnerability marque it hard to forestall additional” infections, said Jennifer Nuzzo, prof of epidemiology and manager of the Brown University School of Public Health’s Pandemic Center. “It worries maine greatly that this microorganism is popping up successful much and much places and that we support being amazed by infections successful radical whom we wouldn’t deliberation would beryllium astatine precocious hazard of being exposed to the virus.”

A connection from the California Department of Public Health said that nary of the child’s household members person the virus, though they, too, had mild respiratory symptoms. They are besides being treated with antiviral medication.

Erica Pan, California’s authorities epidemiologist, said that the kid and their household besides tested affirmative for respective different respiratory viruses — immoderate of which are presently circulating passim the state.

She would not sanction the different viruses.

Richard Webby, manager of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center for Studies connected the Ecology of Influenza successful Animals and Birds and a researcher successful the section of Infectious Diseases astatine St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital successful Memphis, Tenn., said helium knew thing astir the particulars of the lawsuit — different than what helium had work successful the quality merchandise — but, “I’m conscionable manus waving here,” it is imaginable the debased levels of H5 microorganism detected were conscionable fragments of the microorganism picked up successful the situation and not needfully circulating successful the child.

For instance, portion pasteurized beverage is harmless to drink, determination is inactivated microorganism successful it — which could hypothetically trigger definite tests to look positive.

Asked if this was a possibility, Pan said it was thing she was considering — but stressed that the CDC inactive needs to corroborate the trial and it’s apt nary 1 volition ever beryllium capable to find the root with certainty.

“Even with immoderate of these farmworkers, if you person microorganism successful the situation that possibly is inactivated, could you contaminate and person it successful your nose? For example, a kid who’s picking their nose... could it conscionable beryllium sitting determination and not really causing an infection?” she said.

She besides said portion the authorities considers it a precocious likelihood the microorganism is H5N1, determination are different H5 viruses circulating — including an H5N5 microorganism that’s been detected successful chaotic birds successful eastbound Canada. Pan said she was not alert of which different H5 viruses mightiness beryllium circulating successful birds.

Pan said irrespective of the root oregon strain, the hazard to the nationalist remains low. Whatever the concern with the kid whitethorn be, determination is nary grounds the microorganism moved from idiosyncratic to person.

She said that arsenic chaotic birds migrate and shed microorganism into the environment, “we whitethorn spot cases similar this, with enhanced surveillance, go much common. As we bash much testing, we mightiness find more.”

The state’s quality merchandise noted that the kid had attended a time attraction portion symptomatic. People the kid whitethorn person had interaction with person been notified and are being offered preventative antiviral medicine and testing.

“It’s earthy for radical to beryllium concerned, and we privation to reenforce for parents, caregivers and families that based connected the accusation and information we have, we don’t deliberation the kid was infectious — and nary human-to-human dispersed of vertebrate flu has been documented successful immoderate state for much than 15 years,” said CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón.

The lawsuit comes days aft the state wellness bureau announced the find of six caller vertebrate flu cases, each successful dairy workers. The full number of confirmed quality cases successful California is 27. This caller lawsuit volition bring it to 28, if confirmed. This is the archetypal quality lawsuit successful California that is not associated with the dairy industry.

The full fig of confirmed quality cases successful the U.S., including the Alameda County child, present stands astatine 54. Thirty-one are associated with the dairy industry, 21 with the poultry industry, and present 2 with chartless sources.

Pan said the authorities is actively investigating the lawsuit and is looking astatine chaotic birds arsenic a imaginable source. She would not supply further item but to accidental that adjacent wherever the kid lives, “there person been reports of a batch of birds astir there.”

In Canada, a teen is successful captious information with the disease. The root of that child’s corruption is besides unknown.

Genetic sequencing of the Canadian teenager’s microorganism shows mutations that whitethorn marque it much businesslike astatine moving betwixt people. It is unclear if those changes happened successful the microorganism earlier the teen contracted it, oregon portion it circulated successful the teen. The Canadian microorganism is besides a variant of H5N1 that has been associated with migrating chaotic birds, not cattle.

Genetic sequencing of the California child’s microorganism has not been released, truthful it is unclear if it is of chaotic vertebrate origin, oregon the 1 moving done the state’s dairy herds.

In addition, WastewaterScan — an infectious illness monitoring web led by researchers from Stanford University and Emory University, with laboratory enactment from Verily, Alphabet Inc.’s beingness sciences enactment — follows 28 wastewater sites successful California. All but six person shown detectable amounts of H5 successful the past mates of weeks.

There are nary monitoring sites successful Alameda County, but affirmative hits person been recovered successful respective Bay Area wastewater districts, including San Francisco, Redwood City, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Napa.

“This conscionable makes the enactment of protecting radical from this microorganism and preventing it from mutating to origin a pandemic that overmuch harder,” said Nuzzo.