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Health officials said Monday that a patient in Louisiana with a severe case of bird flu has died, the first reported human death from the disease in the U.S.
The patient marked the country’s first severe case of H5N1 avian influenza, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in December. On Monday, the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement that the patient, who was older than 65 and reported to have underlying medical conditions, had been hospitalized “after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.”
No additional H5N1 cases have been reported and there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission, Louisiana officials said.
No additional H5N1 cases have been reported and there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission, Louisiana officials said. The department said the risk to the public is still low but cautioned that those “who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk.”
The current outbreak of avian influenza was first reported among dairy cattle early last year. There have since been recorded cases of bird flu in other animals and in humans as well, including two severe cases in North America — one involving a teenager in British Columbia, in addition to the Louisiana patient.
The CDC says there is still no evidence of the virus being transmitted between humans, and the vast majority of reported cases in people have been mild. Still, some public health experts have warned that the outbreak could escalate.