Raw Farm milk has been voluntarily recalled. Photo via California Department of Public Health

The Marin County Public Health department is warning people not to consume raw milk products after what it calls a “suspected case of bird flu in a child who experienced fever and vomiting after drinking raw milk.”

Marin County officials said they are investigating the possible case of bird flu with the California Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The child has since recovered, with no other family members who became sick, health officials said.

Marin officials said the possible illness was linked to unpasteurized milk produced by Fresno County-based Raw Firm, which is currently more than a week into a voluntary recall after California health officials said its products tested positive for bird flu.

But Mark McAfee, CEO of Raw Farm near Kerman, said this announcement represents the latest politically motivated attack against the raw milk community.

U.S. sales of raw milk increased by 21% this year.

CNN cited an unnamed source close to the CDC investigation that testing hasn’t been completed, but initial tests have been negative for the H5 avian influenza virus in this case.

McAfee said the illness could be the seasonal flu.

“There are literally 100,000 people in California drinking raw milk, and you don’t think some of them might get the flu?” McAfee said Wednesday. “This is definitely part of an agenda.”

On Dec. 6, state health officials issued an alert to health care providers to test for human avian flu in people who develop flu-like symptoms after consuming raw milk. Due to widespread transmission of bird flu among wild birds, there have been significant outbreaks among dairy cows and sporadic human cases.

“Bird flu infections in humans are uncommon but there are ongoing outbreaks in dairy cattle and poultry farms in the United States,” said Dr. Lisa Santora, Marin County’s Public Health Officer, “The risk to the public remains low, as bird flu spread from person to person is rare.”

There have been 32 confirmed cases of bird flu reported in California this year. Most bird flu detections in the U.S. have been in ag workers who were exposed to sick animals.