First in America! First human death due to bird flu

 

 

Washington: The first human death due to bird flu in the United States has been reported. A 65-year-old patient has died of bird flu in Louisiana. Louisiana health officials have confirmed this. The patient, who was admitted to the hospital in mid-December, succumbed to the disease, Louisiana health officials said. The patient died after contracting bird flu and was being treated in the hospital for a respiratory illness. Louisiana health officials said the challenge was that the deceased also had other health problems.

Officials said there is no need for the public to be concerned about bird flu and the risk of human-to-human transmission is low. Louisiana health officials said that while the risk to the public is low, those who work with birds, poultry and cattle should be vigilant. Officials explained that the H5N1 virus that infected the deceased patient is different from the version of the virus found in the country. Officials say the genetic sequence of the H5N1 virus found in the patient who died in Louisiana was different from viruses found in many cases across the country. Louisiana health officials also described a small part of the virus in the patient as having genetic mutations.
Human cases of bird flu have been recorded in the United States since early 2024. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case of severe bird flu in the United States in December 2024. It is clear that this patient died in a hospital in Louisiana.