Patient Hospitalized in Louisiana With First U.S. Case of Severe Bird Flu

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) — In a case first reported in Louisiana last Friday, a patient has now developed the first known case of bird flu so severe as to require hospitalization, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Sixty other cases of H5N1 avian flu have been reported in people across the United States since April of this year, but have resulted in relatively mild symptoms that resolved after treatment.

However, the Louisiana case — the first-ever reported H5N1 illness in that state — “marks the first instance of severe illness linked to the virus in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement.

The threat to other people remains low, the agency said, and human-to-human transmission has been largely ruled out in this case.

“While an investigation into the source of the infection in Louisiana is ongoing, it has been determined that the patient had exposure to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks,” the CDC said.

Most of the other bird-to-human cases have occurred in workers at major poultry farms; “this is the first case of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. that has been linked to exposure to a backyard flock,” the CDC noted.

The agency also stressed that an eventual case of severe H5N1 avian flu in an American was “not unexpected.”

“Avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection has previously been associated with severe human illness in other countries during 2024 and prior years, including illness resulting in death,” the CDC stated.

The case does serve as a reminder, however, that anyone with close exposures to birds needs to be careful. “This means that backyard flock owners, hunters and other bird enthusiasts should also take precautions,” the agency said.

In a health alert issued Dec. 13, state officials said the case involves a resident of southwestern Louisiana.

“The individual had exposure to sick and dead birds that are suspected to have been infected with H5N1,” the virus that causes bird flu.

At least 61 human bird flu cases have been diagnosed in the United States so far this year. The majority of the cases have been in California and Washington, and the infections have mostly surfaced in workers who had been in contact with infected poultry or dairy cows.

For now, there”s no evidence that the bird flu is spreading from person to person, and most cases have largely been mild, with the main symptom being conjunctivitis, or pinkeye. No deaths have been reported.

Earlier this month, U.S. health officials reported that the strain of bird flu detected in a California child is similar to the strain spreading through livestock, though the patient had no known exposure to infected animals.