Bird flu: First death from H5N1 strain reported in US
2025-01-07
Category: news

The first bird-flu related death has been reported in the US, according to the Louisiana department of health, where the death occurred. The patient had been taken to hospital after contracting a major strain of bird flu, known as H5N1.Louisiana health department said they were over the age of 65, and had other underlying health conditions. It said their public health investigation had not found evidence of person-to-person transmission, or any other cases.Bird flu is a disease caused by a virus that infects birds and sometimes other animals, such as foxes, seals and otters. In very rare cases, it can also infect humans.
The state's health department added the person had contracted bird flu after being exposed to a personal flock of birds and wild birds."While the current public health risk for the general public remains low, people who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk," it said.There have been 66 confirmed cases of H5N1 bird flu in the US since 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
What is bird flu?
Bird flu is a disease caused by a virus that infects birds, and sometimes other animals. Bird migration has resulted in outbreaks of the avian flu in domestic and wild birds.The H5N1 virus is the major strain circulating among wild birds worldwide, and emerged in China in the late 1990s.Although infection of humans is very rare, it occurs via transmission from birds. Almost all cases of infection in people have been associated with close contact to infected dead or live birds, or contaminated environments.Since 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) has counted 954 confirmed human cases of bird flu, of which about half have died.There has been no sustained human-to-human transmission.Last month, the CDC said the Louisiana patient had been infected with the D1.1variant of the virus, which has recently been detected in North America.A 13-year-old girl in Canada was taken to hospital with the same D1.1 variant in November 2024, according to a paper published in The New England Journal of Medicine.It is different to the B3.13 variant, which - during the past year - has been on the rise among cows in the US.In September 2024, a person in Missouri recovered from bird flu after being treated in hospital. 
Bird flu symptoms
According to the WHO, symptoms of a H5N1 infection include a cough, sore throat, fever (often over 38C), muscle aches and general feelings of malaise.People with the virus may also display other non-respiratory symptoms such as conjunctivitis.The WHO added that H5N1 has also been detected in people without symptoms who had contact with infected animals or their environments.While the risk to humans is low, the constantly evolving virus is monitored for all changes, including the potential to become easily transmissible from person to person.