CDC Confirms First US Case of Severe Bird Flu

United States you’ve seen a lot people bird flu this yearthey are all mild so far.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Wednesday that a patient in Louisiana has been hospitalized with a severe case of avian influenza caused by the H5N1 virus. This is the first time a serious illness has been linked to the virus in the US.

The virus has killed chickens and wild birds across the country and has infected more than 800 dairy cows in 16 states. Since April, the US has seen totals 61 reported cases of bird flu in eight states. Of those, 37 were exposed to sick or diseased dairy cows, while 21 were exposed to poultry farms and breeding operations. In such cases, people developed conjunctivitis with symptoms of shortness of breath and recovery.

The large-scale case is important because bird flu has historically been associated with severe disease in other countries, including epidemics that killed up to 50 percent of cases. From 2003 to 2023, of the 878 people diagnosed with the virus, 458 people died.

An investigation by the Louisiana Department of Health and the CDC has determined that a hospital patient, living in southwest Louisiana, came into contact with sick and dead birds in the backyard of livestock. This is the first case of H5N1 bird flu in the US that has been linked to a backyard flock, not a commercial farm.

“While the investigation into the origin of the disease in Louisiana continues, it is believed that the patient who reported in Louisiana came into contact with sick or dead birds on their property,” said Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization. and Respiratory Diseases, at a press conference on Wednesday. No further information was available on the incident or the patient’s condition.

A person with bird flu in Missouri was hospitalized in late August, but CDC officials say it was due to illness. The patient had no respiratory symptoms and was not seriously ill from their illness. “In the case of Missouri, we don’t have the same kind of data to support that it’s related to their flu season,” Daskalakis said.

There are genetic similarities between the virus from the Louisiana patient and the virus from a Canadian teenager who was hospitalized with H5N1. Scientists have classified the virus in Louisiana as type D1.1, the same type found in the Canadian patient and another case in Washington state. This has also been found in wild birds and chickens in the US.

This is in contrast to the B3.13 strain, which has been found in dairy cattle, other poultry outbreaks, and occasional human cases in several states. CDC scientists are sequencing a patient’s viral load in Louisiana. Genomic sequencing can identify potential mutations in a virus that may indicate an increased ability to infect humans or spread from person to person.

So far, no human-to-human transmission of H5N1 bird flu has been reported. The CDC says the risk to public health remains low, but those who work or play with infected animals are at a higher risk of contracting the virus. “This means that backyard pet owners, hunters, and other bird lovers should also exercise caution,” the agency said.