Authorities probe whether presumptive bird flu case is connected to raw milk

Public wellness authorities are seeking to find if a Marin County kid stricken with flu could person perchance contracted the unwellness by drinking infected earthy beverage that was taxable to a recall.

The presumptive vertebrate flu lawsuit was announced connected Friday, successful a Marin County wellness newsletter, which provided fewer details astir the lawsuit oregon the region and state’s investigation.

“Since announcing aggregate recalls of earthy beverage owed to contamination with vertebrate flu, authorities and section nationalist wellness experts person received reports of illnesses from 10 individuals who reported drinking earthy milk,” said Ali Bay, spokeswoman for the state’s nationalist wellness department.

She said that archetypal region and authorities nationalist wellness laboratory investigating had not identified immoderate affirmative vertebrate flu infections successful these individuals, but that 1 Marin County kid who tested affirmative for Influenza A had recovered.

H5N1 vertebrate flu is classified arsenic an Influenza A microorganism — a radical that besides includes quality seasonal flu viruses.

Additional investigating is being conducted to measure whether the kid was infected with vertebrate flu oregon seasonal flu.

The child, a toddler, is not a nonmigratory of Marin County, said Lisa Santora, Marin County nationalist wellness officer, successful an interrogation Wednesday morning.

She said the kid was visiting the region and was brought to the exigency country aft experiencing vomiting and a precocious fever for respective days. A nasopharyngeal flu trial — the benignant that takes a illustration from wrong the chemoreceptor — was antagonistic for Influenza A.

After learning astir the earthy milk, however, region wellness officials took samples from the child’s rima the pursuing day.

According to Santora, galore dairy workers who person tested affirmative for H5N1 vertebrate flu had antagonistic Influenza A nasopharyngeal tests and affirmative oral ones.

In addition, according to Santora, lone the kid consumed the earthy beverage successful ample quantity — different household members whitethorn person added “small volumes to their coffee.” None of the different household members exhibited flu symptoms oregon tested affirmative for flu.

Finally, said Santora, determination is nary grounds of quality flu circulating successful the child’s location assemblage oregon successful the Marin assemblage the child’s household was visiting astatine the extremity of November.

Take each those things together, said Santora, and it seemed prudent to trial for vertebrate flu.

Initial laboratory investigating failed to observe vertebrate flu — determination was excessively small microorganism available, said Santora — but the illustration has been sent to the CDC for further testing.

In a connection released Tuesday, Santora and authorities officials said the hazard to the nationalist remains low.

Bay, the California Department of Public Health spokeswoman, said the state, on with Marin County Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are moving collaboratively connected this probe and “will supply updates arsenic they are available.”

In the past 2 weeks, state wellness and agriculture officials suspended and recalled infected earthy beverage that had made its mode to market store shelves passim the state.

It is unclear if radical tin get vertebrate flu by consuming the microorganism successful milk. It is thought that acids successful the tummy denature the virus, said Michael Imperiale, a virologist astatine the University of Michigan successful Ann Arbor.

However, scores of barn cats, mice and different animals person been sickened — and person died — by drinking infected earthy milk. Imperiale and others enactment that astir mammals devour nutrient otherwise than people, often putting their mouths and noses into their food, perchance exposing themselves via respiratory routes, arsenic opposed to becoming infected done the gut.

It is presumed astir infected dairy workers were exposed to H5N1 via beverage spray successful the oculus oregon successful the nose, not arsenic a effect of drinking it.

However, handling infected earthy beverage — wiping it connected one’s hands and past chemoreceptor oregon eyes — could supply a imaginable way for infection.

Since H5N1 vertebrate flu was archetypal identified successful 1996 successful birds successful China’s Guangdong province, determination person been few, if any, reports of radical becoming sick with the illness arsenic a effect of eating oregon drinking it.

However, this strain of H5N1 has behaved successful unpredictable ways, said Santora.

Irrespective of the way of infection, Bay noted that “pasteurization kills bacteria and viruses, similar influenza, successful milk” and that choosing pasteurized beverage and dairy products “is the champion mode to support you and your household safe.”

Cooking nutrient and eggs thoroughly volition besides inactivate virus.

If confirmed, the Marin County lawsuit would beryllium the 59th quality lawsuit of H5N1 successful the U.S. since the outbreak started successful dairy cows successful March.

It would besides beryllium the 2nd lawsuit successful California successful which the root of corruption has not been determined. A kid successful Alameda County was diagnosed with the illness past month. Genetic sequencing of that child’s microorganism indicates it has similarities to the strain circulating successful dairy cows, known arsenic B3.13, arsenic opposed to the strains present moving successful migrating birds.

Both strains beryllium to the strain of H5N1 known arsenic 2.3.4.4b, which has infected astir 50 taxon of mammals and killed millions of chaotic birds and commercialized poultry.