WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The first death in the United States due to avian influenza A(H5N1), or bird flu, has been reported in Louisiana.
'While tragic, a death from H5N1 bird flu in the United States is not unexpected because of the known potential for infection with these viruses to cause severe illness and death,' the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a press release.
There have been 66 confirmed human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the United States since 2024 and 67 since 2022. Outside the country, more than 950 cases of H5N1 bird flu have been reported to the World Health Organization; about half of those have resulted in death.
CDC did not reveal information about the person who died in Louisiana, but said that the risk to the general public remains low.
No person-to-person transmission spread has been identified. As with the case in Louisiana, most H5 bird flu infections are related to animal-to-human exposures. Additionally, there are no concerning virologic changes actively spreading in wild birds, poultry, or cows that would raise the risk to human health. However, people with job-related or recreational exposures to infected birds or other animals are at greater risk of infection, CDC warned.
CDC said it is working closely with state and local partners to conduct active surveillance for H5 cases, and monitoring for changes that might suggest H5 viruses are becoming better adapted to mammals and therefore might spread more easily from animals-to-humans or human-to-human or cause more severe disease.
Also, it is monitoring for any viral changes that could make these viruses less responsive to flu antiviral medications or the available candidate vaccine viruses.
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