First Death From Bird Flu In Louisiana; Are Humans Safe?

After the first rare case of bird flu or the H5N1 virus was reported in Louisiana in December, the unnamed patient died after being hospitalized for a long time. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the patient was over 65 years of age and had existing medical conditions. Due to this, he developed severe illness after being exposed by the bird flu.

The sample was taken from a patient in Louisiana, which showed mutations in the gene which is responsible for attaching to host's cells. This is a concern, as it raises the questions of whether the H5N1 virus can actually swap gene segment with other flu?

Those who had earlier died from bird flu, many of them were farmers or those who lived near the poultry. However, in the case of the Louisiana resident, the patient tested positive for the flu after he was exposed to wild birds and a personal backyard poultry flock that was invested by the bird flu virus or the H5N1. This is unusual, as according to the CSC, 66 human cases of H5N1 have been confirmed in the US since 2024, where the vast majority was exposed through chemical poultry, or dairy cattle. Cases too have been mild.

No other human cases have been identified in Louisiana as of now. “CDC has carefully studied the available information about the person who died in Louisiana and continues to assess that the risk to the general public remains low. Most importantly, no person-to-person transmission spread has been identified,” the CDC said.

Is bird flu deadly in humans?

As per the CDC, since 2003, amount thousand confirmed cases of human H5N1 was reported to the World Health Organization. Out of this, almost 50% died, and the fatality rate was set at 52%.

The countries reporting the highest number of human bird flu deaths are Indonesia, Egypt, Vietnam, Cambodia, and China. While the fatality rate varies by the strain of bird flu, another type, that is, H679 is known to infect humans has a lower fatality rate of 40%.

Read more on Bird Flu here.

CDC also noted that severe H5N1 avian flu in America was "not expected". "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.

Does it come from other animals?

Bird flu primarily infected farmworkers or those in close proximity to livestock. The first human bird flu case in the US was reported in 2022, to a person who was also involved in farm-working.

While this flu is largely confined to birds in the wild and poultry, recent outbreaks have been reported in mammals too, including cattle.

The CDC also noted earlier that the risk to the general public is still at low, however, this warning could change. "Although human infections are rare, circumstances may evolve as we learn more about this case," said the CDC in a statement.

Other concerns

If you have cats as pet, or consume eggs from poultry, or milk from dairy, it is important to pay attention on food hygiene.

“We don't know if the cats are more susceptible than anybody else,” he said. “It's just the fact they're exposed to higher viral burdens because of where they go.”

Pasteurization and cooking them at high temperatures can curb the threat. It is also important to handle your poultry products when you are buying and storing them.

Also, avoid drinking raw milk to kill avian influenza A(H5N1).