On the same day the CDC confirmed the third human case of bird flu in California, state officials said Wednesday that they had identified two more possible infections, also farmworkers in the Central Valley. In less than six weeks, California has become the U.S. hot spot for bird flu, with one-third of all the infected dairy herds in the country and all of the human cases since Sept. 6.
“While the risk to the general public remains low, additional human cases of bird flu are expected to be identified and confirmed in California among individuals who have contact with infected dairy cattle,” said the state Department of Public Health.
All five of the California cases were dairy farm workers who experienced mild symptoms, including eye redness or discharge. None were hospitalized. Not counting the two latest illnesses, 17 people have been infected by the avian flu virus this year. All but one, reported in Missouri on Sept. 6, were dairy or poultry workers.
Bird flu was first identified in dairy cattle in late March in Texas. The “jump” from birds to cattle created an opportunity for the H5N1 avian flu virus, which has spread worldwide, to become more communicable and spread to people. The Centers for Disease Control said genetic sequences of the first two California cases found no changes in the virus that would make it more infectious among humans or reduce its susceptibility to antiviral medications.
“There is no known link or contact between any of California’s confirmed or possible cases, continuing to suggest only animal-to-human spread of the virus in the state,” said the state health department. “All individuals had contact with animals at different farms.”
Since the first outbreak of bird flu in California dairy cattle was reported on Aug. 30, 96 herds have become infected, the most in any state. Colorado is second, with 64 herds. The virus has been confirmed in 296 herds in 14 states, according to USDA data.
California has about 1,100 dairy farms, and 700 of them have at least 500 cows. So far, the drop in milk production due to bird flu has been minimal and milk prices have been stable, said agricultural economist Aaron Smith of the University of California in his Ag Data News blog on Wednesday. “In fact, milk futures prices have declined somewhat in the past two weeks.”
Nearly 101 million birds in domestic flocks, mostly egg-laying hens and turkeys being raised for meat, have died of highly pathogenic avian influenza since the H5N1 virus was detected in U.S. flocks in February 2022. The most recent outbreak was at a turkey farm with some 65,000 birds in Merced County in the Central Valley of California on Sept. 18, according to a USDA database.
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