Even as bird flu among cows in the United States continues to spread, health officials have reported that the strain of the H5N1 virus detected in a California child is similar to the one strain expanding through livestock. According to reports, the patient had no known exposure to infected animals.

Officials say the findings are not definite as of now. Still, tests have "showed that the virus was very similar to viruses detected in both dairy cattle and poultry as well as to A[H5N1] viruses from previous human infections in dairy workers in California," the health update from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated. “This case does not change the CDC's assessment of the immediate risk to the general public, which remains low at this time,” the agency added.

However, health officials in California say they continue to investigate how the child has been exposed to bird fluwas being treated with antivirals and now has recovered.

Many experts believe it is unlikely that the California case is a community spread. Instead, other animals that could have come into contact with the virus, such as cats, dogs, or rodents, might be contributing to its spread. Experts are worried that the longer the virus spreads among humans and animals, the more likely it will mutate and be able to spread easily between humans.

This year, so far, 58 people have been confirmed to have bird flu across the country, according to the CDC; all but one have been exposed to infected poultry or dairy cows. However, in the California case, no person-to-person spread of the virus was detected and the child's family members all tested negative.

Bird flu has been spreading in poultry since 2022, and cases in dairy cows began to be reported in March this year. According to reports, the virus was discovered in a pig as well for the first time recently. Bird flu infections in humans—nearly all among farmworkers—have been confirmed in seven states.

It’s not clear how humans have picked up the H5N1 virus.

Across the US, nearly 750 dairy herds in 16 states have been reported to be infected since the outbreak in dairy cows was first confirmed last spring. Avian influenza has been spreading in wild and domestic birds in the United States for several years.

Experts say the bird flu virus usually spreads in birds and other animals. Sometimes, humans can get bird flu from infected animals. There are many subtypes of avian flu—the most common that spread to humans are influenza A (H5N1) and influenza A (H7N9). These are named based on the types of proteins on the surface of the virus. The 2024 outbreak in the US is an H5 subtype of influenza A.

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