CDC Links Avian Flu In California Child With Dairy Cows

The Washington Post (12/10, Sun) says disease trackers with the Centers for Disease Control “reported Tuesday that the first child diagnosed with bird flu in an ongoing U.S. outbreak was infected with a virus strain closely related to one moving rapidly through dairy cattle, even though there is no evidence the youngster was exposed to livestock or any infected animals.” The finding “deepened the mystery about the spread of H5N1 bird flu, a viral ailment that epidemiologists have watched warily for more than two decades, fearing it could spark a pandemic.”