The California Department of Public Health reported the state’s fourth case of a person contracting bird flu Thursday afternoon.
The infected person was from the Central Valley and had contact with infected dairy cows. All four people were in contact with infected animals at four separate farms. Authorities concluded that there was no known link between any of the confirmed cases, indicating that the disease spread directly from animal to human.
State public health officials were also notified of two more possible human cases of bird flu in the Central Valley, and samples were collected and sent to the CDC for confirmation.
Those infected have shown mild symptoms, including eye redness or discharge, and none were hospitalized. The risk of contracting bird flu for the general public is low, but the state’s public health department is expecting more cases of bird flu among people who interact with infected dairy cows.
Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, is a viral infection that most commonly affects birds; it can affect wildlife and reduce the food supply. Humans can be infected, but it is rare for the virus to spread from person to person. The H5N1 virus is the most common cause of bird flu in humans. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the death rate for bird flu in humans is over 50%.
