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Possible case of bird flu reported in Marin County child
Its unclear when exactly the child potentially contracted the disease or where. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working on determining how the child was exposed.
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. - Health officials in Marin County are working with state health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to confirm a case of possible bird flu in a child. On Tuesday, local health officials said the child presented symptoms after drinking raw milk.
Those symptoms included fever and vomiting. The child has since recovered and no other family members became sick, officials said.
In their news release, Marin Health & Human Services said they are closely monitoring a multi-state H5N1, also known as bird flu, outbreak.
H5N1 was first detected in the state among cows in August. That was followed by the detection among humans in the state in 2024.
We reported on the possible bird flu case in a child over the weekend. But the detail about consuming raw milk is a new development.
Health officials said bird flu in humans is rare. Last week, state health officials issued an alert advising health care providers to consider avian flu in symptomatic persons who consumed raw milk products.
In November, Alameda County health officials confirmed a case of bird flu in a separate child.
You can read the full news release from Marin County health officials here.
California: Raw milk to be tested for bird flu in six states, USDA says
Raw milk across several states will be tested after an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strain H5N1 in March of this year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.