FRIDAY, Jan. 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging health care workers to accelerate bird flu testing for patients hospitalized with flu symptoms, as the H5N1 avian influenza outbreak continues to grow in the United States and Canada.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging health care workers to accelerate bird flu testing for patients hospitalized with flu symptoms.

Bird flu is a disease caused by avian influenza A viruses, according to the CDC. The virus mostly spreads between birds and dairy cows, but there have been 67 human cases of bird flu nationwide and one death tied to the infection since 2024, CDC records show.

The CDC is calling for expanded testing of bird flu after a child in California tested positive for the virus despite no known contact with animals.

By Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek (Reuters) -People hospitalized for flu should be tested for bird flu within 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, in an expansion of the agency's efforts to tackle ongoing infections in humans.

Spartanburg has a confirmed case of the bird flu. The CDC reports the virus was detected on Dec. 31, 2024, in a flock of about 490 birds.

CDC officials say medical professionals are seeing more patients whose illness cannot be traced back to an infected animal or bird.

CDC officials say they extended the guidance now because they are seeing more H5N1 patients whose illness they cannot track back to an infected bird or cow.