The first human case of bird flu in Los Angeles County has been detected as infections continue to pop up across the state and country.
L.A. County Department of Public Health officials said an adult had mild symptoms after they were exposed to infected livestock at a worksite. They have been treated with antiviral medications and are recovering at home, according to the statement by the health department.
As of Dec. 20, the California Department of Public Health said there were 36 confirmed human cases of bird flu across the state. Days earlier, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Dec. 18 over the rising number of infections, the same day a person in Louisiana was hospitalized with a “severe” case of the virus.
Public risk of infection remains low, and there hasn’t been evidence of person to person spread of the virus, the county department of public health said.
Officials are monitoring close contacts of the infected person as well as other employees who were exposed at the worksite for symptoms of bird flu virus. They have been offered personal protective equipment and antiviral prophylaxis, the department of public health said.
County officials are working on the investigation with the state department of public health and the Centers for Disease Control. No additional cases of bird flu virus have been identified in the county.
Symptoms of bird flu virus in humans include eye redness or discharge, fever, cough or difficulty breathing, sore throat, muscle or body aches, diarrhea and vomiting.
Those who work with infected animals, including cows, poultry or wildlife, are at a higher risk of exposure to the virus.
The county department of public health is continuing to work with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the county agricultural community to provide information and resources to protect farm workers, workers at dairy, meat and egg processing facilities and backyard flock owners.
Officials are providing access to gloves, face masks, eye protection, testing and flu vaccines.
Anyone who was exposed to infected animals and is experiencing symptoms of bird flu virus should immediately call their health care provider and local health department.
While working with animals, their feces, water sources or raw milk, people can protect themselves by wearing personal protective equipment, like gloves, N-95 masks, goggles, coveralls that keep you dry, head or hair covers and boots or boot covers, the department said. Workers should also wash their hands throughout the day and before touching their face and shower and change out of their work clothes before going home or immediately after they get home.
Officials also discourage drinking raw milk and other raw products or feeding them to pets as raw milk, raw cheese or undercooked meat products from infected animals could spread the virus. Public health officials recently investigated the deaths of cats due to drinking raw milk infected with bird flu.
To reduce the spread of bird flu virus, people should also limit unprotected contact with possibly infected or dead animals and report sick or dead birds to a local animal control agency. People should also keep their pets or poultry away from wild animals and remove bird feeders and baths to reduce the spread among birds.
While it can’t prevent the bird flu virus, county health officials also recommend everyone get a flu vaccine to prevent them from getting human and bird flu virus at the same time.
Anyone with questions or who needs to find a nearby clinic or doctor can call the Public Health InfoLine at 833-540-0473 everyday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.