California health officials: Bird flu virus found in raw milk for sale While the human health implications of drinking H5N1-laced milk are unknown, scientists say the discovery is concerning

https://www.statnews.com/2024/11/24/bird-flu-h5n1-raw-milk-llc-california-virus-testing/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9481JY-gVXfuJFCRAPYNUrEMKt1iSWfrAlypTSfavMtYiIt3DBOke70SK6qWPkO8kZNyfgW-z8PzDwCOKxzS_O_g5cZQ&_hsmi=335470246&utm_content=335470246&utm_source=hs_email U.S. confirms first H5N1 case in a child The CDC confirmed on Friday that a California child was infected with H5N1 bird flu. As with a case in Missouri that STAT’s Helen Branswell reported on earlier this fall, the source of the infection is not known. The child, who lives in Alameda County southeast of Oakland, does not live on or near a farm. They had no known contacts with infected animals or poultry, the California Department of Public Health said when the case was first announced. The child, who had only mild symptoms, is recovering. It’s the first confirmed case of H5N1 in a child in the U.S. So far this year 55 confirmed human H5N1 infections have been recorded in seven states. None of the child’s contacts tested positive for the virus, which is good news. But cases where the source of infection cannot be determined are unsettling, raising the specter of undetected transmission of a flu virus to which humans do not have immunity, STAT’s Helen Branswell, who covers infectious diseases, explains in this video. In related perturbing news, California public health officials have detected bird flu virus in a sample of raw milk from Raw Farm in Fresno that was purchased at a retail outlet. (Reminder: A study earlier this year showed that drinking raw milk that contains bird flu viruses could be dangerous.) Helen has the details. https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--ZsXvnNzwHmXN3qOo9kDnGHflTPoCoekeYznu-moEm2uFB5EWKPulDMK-S2jrRSiwMnoW5mJ_6LbeCMomrUqsgBhK0zg&_hsmi=335470246&utm_content=335470246&utm_source=hs_email