First bird flu cases in wildfowl reported in Los Angeles County this year
Los Angeles County health officials have reported three cases of bird flu in their wildfowl population since August, according to wildlife officials.
The birds were recovered on Tuesday between Santa Clarita and Ventura counties, where the birds flew out of the area after an unsuccessful mission.
Officials have not yet determined if the birds were infected by the H5N8 strain of bird flu.
Los Angeles County health officials have reported three cases of bird flu in their wildfowl population since August, according to wildlife officials.
The birds were recovered on Tuesday between Santa Clarita and Ventura counties, where the birds flew out of the area after an unsuccessful mission.
Officials have not yet determined if the birds were infected with the H5N8 strain of bird flu.
Bird flu is a highly contagious disease of birds, and the infection can be passed from birds to humans and other animals.
H5N8 bird flu is one of the four strains of bird flu virus identified by the World Health Organization. The H5N8 strain is highly transmissible from birds to humans.
The virus was first seen in the U.S. in 2013 in Minnesota and has been identified in wild birds, farmed birds and poultry in several states.
According to the Center for Biosecurity and Bioethics at the University of Minnesota, the first human death from bird flu occurred in 2014 in Washington state.
The first human infection from bird flu virus was reported in July 2015 after a man in Washington state contracted H5N8 bird flu and went into anaphylactic shock, according to the Center for Biosecurity and Bioethics.
Public health officials say the risk of bird flu in the U.S. is low, partly because the virus is not as contagious as other illnesses for which people take medicine.
In addition, the birds that carry bird flu are not common in the U.S. There have been at least one reported case each in Mexico and in Canada, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The risk of bird flu in California is very small, officials said.
This is the third case in wildfowl recorded since August in Los Angeles County, according to wildlife biologist Tom
