US reports first death linked to bird flu in Louisiana
Al Jazeera
The late patient had been hospitalised in December with severe respiratory symptoms after contact with infected birds.
The United States has recorded its first death from bird flu after a 65-year-old patient who was hospitalised on December 18 passed away.
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) announced the news on Monday. The patient had been the first person in the US to be hospitalised as a result of the virus, known as H5N1.
“LDH’s extensive public health investigation has identified no additional H5N1 cases nor evidence of person-to-person transmission. This patient remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana,” the state agency said in a social media post. “Current general public health risk remains low.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed 66 human cases in total in the US since April, though none as severe as the Louisiana case.
Authorities believe that the patient, who had pre-existing conditions, contracted bird flu through exposure to backyard chickens and wild birds.
