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- A 65-year-old patient has died of bird flu, Louisiana officials reported on Monday.
- The patient had underlying conditions and was infected by exposure to birds.
- This is the first death linked to the current outbreak of H5N1, avian influenza.
A Louisiana patient died from a severe case of bird flu, state health officials reported on Monday. It’s the first bird flu-related human death in the US.
The patient, who was over 65 and had underlying conditions, is the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana.
There is still no sign that the virus can spread between people. The patient contracted the H5N1 virus after exposure to wild birds and a non-commercial backyard flock, officials reported.
There have been 939 cases of human H5N1 infections worldwide as of November 2024, according to the World Health Organization. Of those, 464 were fatal.
“I think it’s pretty clear that we will continue to see severe disease,” Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude and director of the WHO animal and bird flu center, told Business Insider. “I guess the real question is are we going to see more? I don’t know the answer to that one.”
The Louisiana patient, who was hospitalized in late 2024, carried a new version of bird flu, which is unlike the bird flu that has been seen in cattle, the CDC reported.
Webby said “this virus is not going to go away. Unfortunately it’s in wild birds and it’s hard to get rid of there.”
He added: “The risk of catching this virus is not just for those that are in a milking farm in California, clearly those people are at most risk” but “anywhere where there’s birds there is a risk to individuals who are in contact with those birds.”
The Louisiana Department of Health said in its report that the public health risk for the general public remains low, but “people who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk.”
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
