L.A. County resident infected by bird flu as county spreads awareness

Los Angeles County reported its first case of human H5N1 bird flu infection Monday, as health officials sought to spread public awareness of the threat.

The infected person was an adult who was exposed to infected livestock at a worksite, county health officials said. Officials didn’t specify the person’s gender or other identifying information to respect the patient’s privacy, but said the person is being treated with antivirals and is at home recovering with mild symptoms.

“People rarely get bird flu, but those who interact with infected livestock or wildlife have a greater risk of infection,” Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County health officer, said in a statement.

This is the 66th case of reported H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. this year and the 36th person in California. Thirty-four of the cases have involved dairy workers, and one — a child in Alameda County — was infected by an unknown source. This case was described only as exposure to livestock; health officials would not say whether it was was dairy cattle.

Sharon Balter, director of the county’s Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, declined to describe the person’s symptoms in detail for privacy reasons and said the patient didn’t seek treatment at a hospital or clinic.

“We were doing outreach and found the person,” Balter said.

Over the weekend, she said, the county identified the patient as possibly infected and sent test results to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The county received the results Monday.

The county has also been handing out fliers in neighborhoods where officials believe residents may have chicken coops, livestock or other animals in their backyards. The fliers advise people to report sick or dead birds to animal control agencies and to prevent wild birds from getting into areas that house pet birds and poultry.

Flier recipients are also advised not to eat raw milk, raw cheese and undercooked meat.

Balter was unaware of any other county health department in the state or the nation sending fliers out to residents, but said she was recently contacted by a county in another state that was interested in L.A. County’s material.

She said the county has been issuing the fliers in select areas since the spring, when the first human cases were announced.

Balter said the fliers are being distributed for public awareness and to help ensure people most likely interacting with animals had vital information.

A person in Louisiana was hospitalized last week with a severe case of bird flu. That person is believed to have been infected by handling sick or dead birds in a backyard flock.

Balter said she wants people to be aware of the disease and to know they should avoid sick and dead birds.

The flier also advises residents to get the seasonal flu vaccine, which can help prevent severe seasonal flu illness and lower the risk of getting both seasonal and bird flu infections at the same time if exposed.

Symptoms of bird flu in humans include eye redness or discharge, fever, cough or difficulty breathing, sore throat, muscle or body aches, diarrhea and vomiting.