First human bird flu death recorded in US, CDC warns ‘death not unexpected’

The US recorded its first bird flu-linked death Monday (Jan 6), raising alarm over potential of human-to-human transmission. Health authorities in Louisiana declared that the 65-year-old patient had been hospitalised for respiratory illnesses and had underlying medical conditions.

Earlier in December, the health authorities identified it as the first serious case of human infection of the H5N1 virus in the country. “The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds,” the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement.

However, the statement stated that the risk of human transmission remained low, saying it had not detected any such case so far.

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“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,” the statement warned.

H5N1’s first case

It is to be noted that while the first case of H5N1 was first detected in 1996, the number of cases has exploded since 2020 among bird flocks and mammal species. It was revealed in genetic sequencing that the version of H5N1 virus that infected the Louisiana patient was different from what was detected in many dairy herds and farms around the nation.

Symptoms of H5N1 virus

So far, at least 67 cases have been recorded in the US. As per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, all human bird flu infections but one have been detected only in the past 10 months. However, symptoms in most patients have been relatively mild, including pinkeye, coughs or sneezes.

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Of these 67, only two patients had no record of animal exposure. “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 CDC said in a statement Monday.

(With inputs from agencies)