The U.S. outbreak of H5N1 bird flu is growing as the CDC confirms the third case in California

California has recorded its third case of bird flu in dairy farmers in just three weeks, making it the seventeenth case of H5N1 flu in humans in the US since March.

CDC officials announced that the latest patient is experiencing mild symptoms, including eye redness and eye infection, and that none of the three cases required hospitalization.

Experts believe the infection was spread through the dairy cows with which each patient comes into close contact every day. The patients did not know each other and there is so far no evidence that the infection is spreading from person to person.

According to the CDC, more cases are likely to occur in the coming months given the speed at which bird flu is spreading among hundreds of dairy herds in at least fourteen states.

The agency has received more specimens from two other Californians who are suspected of having bird flu, but they must undergo confirmatory testing by the CDC to verify the results.

While the agency insists the risk to the public remains low, experts have expressed fears that all signs point to the virus’s ability to cause a potential pandemic not unlike that of Covid-19.

At least 250 herds of livestock in 14 states have been hit with bird flu since the spring, resulting in at least 18 human cases this year