US reports its first human death from bird flu in Louisiana; Key symptoms to watch out for – Times of India

The United States of America has reported its first human death due to bird flu, Louisiana health authorities have confirmed. The patient, aged over 65, had been hospitalized in the southern state since at least mid-December, when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it as the country’s first serious case of human infection from the H5N1 virus.
Louisiana health authorities noted that the patient had underlying medical conditions; however, maintained that the general risks to the public remained ‘low’.
Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement announcing the death, “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 has been reported that the patient had “contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds,” but had detected no further H5N1 infections nor evidence of person-to-person transmission in the state.
Since the beginning the 2024, the CDC has recorded 66 cases of bird flu in humans in the United States. The CDC said in December that genetic sequencing of the H5N1 virus from the Louisiana patient was different from the version detected in many dairy herds around the country. A small part of the virus in the patient had genetic modifications that suggested it could have mutated inside the body to adapt to the human respiratory tract.

H5N1 was first detected in 1996, but since 2020, the number of outbreaks among bird flocks has exploded, while a growing number of mammal species have been affected.
CDC said in a statement, “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 World Health Organization has recorded over 950 bird flu cases in humans since 2003 in 24 countries, including a large number in China and Vietnam.

What is bird flu?

Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, is a viral infection that primarily affects birds but can also infect humans and other animals.
H5N1 bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), is a subtype of the influenza A virus that can infect birds, mammals, and humans.
Causes: Bird flu is caused by the influenza A virus, which is present in many bird populations. There are many different strains of the virus, which can be classified as either low pathogenic (LPAI) or high pathogenic (HPAI).
Symptoms: Symptoms of bird flu can range from mild to severe and include fever, cough, muscle aches, eye redness, and difficulty breathing. In severe cases, complications like pneumonia or organ failure can occur.

Transmission: Bird flu spreads between wild and domesticated birds, and can be transmitted to humans through close contact with infected animals or contaminated surfaces. There is no clear evidence that bird flu can spread from person to person, but it may have happened in rare cases.
Prevention: To prevent bird flu, one can:
Cook poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165°F
Separate raw poultry from cooked foods and foods that won’t be cooked
Wash all surfaces that have come into contact with raw poultry, meat, seafood, or eggs with hot, soapy water
Avoid raw dairy products