The first death of a human linked to the bird flu has been confirmed in the US. A Louisiana patient died after being hospitalized with severe respiratory issues, state officials announced on Monday. The patient, who was not identified, was over the age of 65 and was in contact with sick and dead fowl in a backyard flock, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. The person also had underlying health issues.
Image Credit: Metro [(FILES) This undated handout image obtained on November 22, 2024, courstesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles (blue), grown in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells. The first human death linked to bird flu has been reported in the United States, health authorities in the state of Louisiana said January 6, 2024, adding that the patient was elderly and suffered from other pathologies. The patient, aged over 65, had been hospitalized for a respiratory ailment, and was the first serious case of human infection of the H5N1 virus to be detected in the United States. (Photo by HANDOUT / National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION AND NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by HANDOUT/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/AFP via Getty Images)]
A genetic analysis suggested that the bird flu virus mutated in the patient and could have resulted in sickness that was more severe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed it is the first bird flu death in America. CDC officials said the death was a tragedy but noted that ‘there are no concerning virologic changes actively spreading in wild birds, poultry or cows that would raise the risk to human health’.
Image Credit: Metro [NAFFERTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 18: Officials from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) dispose of culled ducks at a farm near Nafferton, East Yorkshire where a strain of bird flu has been confirmed on November 18, 2014 in East Yorkshire, England. Health officials will cull 6000 ducks and have imposed a six mile exclusion zone to contain the spread, although any risk to public health is said to be very low. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)]
The CDC in mid-December had announced that a patient hospitalized in Louisiana had the first severe bird flu case that was verified in the US. ‘This case underscores that, in addition to affected commercial poultry and dairy operations, wild birds and backyard flocks also can be a source of exposure,’ stated the agency,’ the CDC stated at the time.
The origin of the infection that the Louisiana patient contracted remains unknown. There have been 66 confirmed bird flu cases reported in America since March. But unlike the severe case, most were mild and found in farmworkers who interacted with birds or dairy cows ill with the virus.
![[NAFFERTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 18: Officials from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) dispose of culled ducks at a farm near Nafferton, East Yorkshire where a strain of bird flu has been confirmed on November 18, 2014 in East Yorkshire, England. Health officials will cull 6000 ducks and have imposed a six mile exclusion zone to contain the spread, although any risk to public health is said to be very low. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_233172315-feaa.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
