Today, the CDC confirmed the first case of bird flu seen in a child.
The California resident reported mild symptoms and was treated with flu antivirals. Follow-up testing showed she tested positive for the h-five-n-one virus along with other common respiratory viruses.
It is not currently known how the child got the virus, and she has had no known animal exposure.
Follow-up
There have been 55 confirmed cases of bird flu in the United States in2204, with no known person to person cases, so the likelihood of contracting the virus is still quite low
“But if you’re not engaged in hunting, if you’re not engaged in an agriculture, you know, kind of visiting family over the holiday season or going to stores and things like that, there’s nothing special that I would do with respect to bird flu that I wouldn’t do with, you know, any other respiratory virus this time of year,” said Dr. Patrick Johnson, a UVA Health infectious diseases expert.
During respiratory virus season, the CDC recommends that everyone should get seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccines, and those at increased risk to get vaccinated for RSV.
Air purification, wearing a mask and staying home when sick are additional strategies to prevent the spread of common illnesses.
