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.

The CDC recommends that hospitalized flu patients be tested for bird flu within 24 hours to timely identify avian influenza A (H5N1) cases. While the public risk remains low, faster detection aids in tracing infections and providing swift medical response.

The CDC on Thursday urged labs nationwide to determine within 24 hours of admission whether people hospitalized with the flu have seasonal influenza or are infected with the bird flu that's behind an escalating outbreak in dairy cows and poultry.

Is it seasonal flu or bird flu? CDC prompts hospitals to fast-track subtype testing of sick patients to tell the difference.

The CDC advises testing hospitalized flu patients for bird flu within 24 hours to promptly identify avian influenza A infections. Despite low public risk and no evidence of person-to-person spread, the agency emphasizes quicker testing to expedite health responses and minimize virus transmission among humans and animals.

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 increasing infections in humans.