The United States has recorded its first human death caused by the avian influenza A, or H5N1, virus in a patient in Louisiana. According to the health department, the patient was admitted to the hospital in December with a severe case of highly pathogenic bird flu.

Doctors said he contracted the virus after coming in contact with the unnamed patient. Non-commercial backyard flocks and wild birdsThis was the first human case of this type of exposure associated with bird flu and the first example of Serious illness from H5N1 in America,

according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSince 2024, 66 human cases of H5N1 have been confirmed in most states in the country. Most of those affected are farm workers who were in contact with commercial poultry or dairy cattle, and the cases were mild. Most were treated with flu antivirals and made full recoveries.

H5N1 is not new, as it spreads naturally among wild birds and has caused outbreaks in poultry and sporadic human cases since the late 1990s.

The patient, who was “over the age of 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions,” tested positive for the virus and was exposed to wild birds and a private backyard poultry flock, Louisiana health officials announced in a statement. Serious illness developed after exposure. Was infected with H5N1.

No other human cases have been identified in the state.

“CDC has carefully studied the available information about the person who died in Louisiana and continues to assess that the risk to the general public is low. Most importantly, no person-to-person transmission has been identified,” the CDC said.

How deadly is bird flu in humans?

According to the CDC, since 2003, nearly a thousand confirmed cases of human H5N1 have been reported to the World Health Organization, and about half of them have died. The case fatality rate is about 52 percent.

The countries reporting the highest number of human deaths from bird flu are Indonesia, Egypt, Vietnam, Cambodia and China. Doctors say that even though the case fatality rate varies depending on the type of bird flu, H7N9, another type of bird flu known to infect humans, has a fatality rate of about 40 percent.

Most other bird-to-human cases have occurred among workers at major poultry farms; “This is the first case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States linked to exposure to a backyard flock,” the CDC previously said.

The agency also emphasized that a final case severe H5N1 avian flu In an American “wasn’t unexpected.” “Avian influenza A (H5N1) virus infection has previously been associated with serious human illness in other countries during the years 2024 and earlier, including death resulting from disease,” the CDC said.

This case serves as a reminder, however, that anyone with close contact with birds needs to be careful. “This means backyard flock owners, hunters and other bird lovers should also take precautions,” the agency said. Experts say how deadly bird flu is in humans depends on several factors, including the amount of virus a person is exposed to, their underlying health conditions and access to medical care such as antivirals.

Many of the people who have died from H5N1 have been farmers who live very close to their poultry, ducks, chickens and geese, so they get a larger dose of the virus. As well as close contact with patients, experts believe that the older the patient is and the more chronic underlying diseases they have, the more likely it is to cause serious infections.

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