The deceased patient was hospitalized in December with severe respiratory symptoms after contact with infected birds.
The United States has recorded its first bird flu death after a 65-year-old patient was hospitalized Deceased on December 18.
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) announced the news Monday. The patient was the first person in the US to be hospitalized for the virus, known as H5N1.
“LDH’s extensive public health investigation has not identified any additional cases of H5N1 or evidence of person-to-person transmission. This patient remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana,” the state agency said in a social media post. “The current overall public health risk remains low.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 66 human cases total in the US since April, though none as severe as the case in Louisiana.
Authorities believe the patient, who had a history of illnesses, contracted bird flu through exposure to chickens and wild birds in the backyard.
Although the risk to humans is minimal for now, millions of birds and cattle were killed in an effort to mediate the spread of the virus.
The CDC says most people who have contracted bird flu in recent months were exposed while working with infected livestock and cattle.
An estimated 40 of the 66 cases are linked to dairy herds, with another 23 linked to farms and culling operations.
“While the current public health risk to the general public is low, people who work with or are recreationally exposed to birds, poultry or cows are at greater risk,” LDH said in a statement.
California stated a state of emergency over bird flu in mid-December after dairy cows in that western state tested positive for the virus. As of Monday, the CDC reported 701 confirmed cases in California dairy cattle, out of a total of 917.
Many human bird flu cases in the US are also concentrated in California, which has a large agricultural sector. However, human-to-human transmission has not been recorded. All but one case in the state are related to livestock.
The CDC announced in late December that genetic analysis of the Louisiana patient indicated that the virus had mutated within the patient, which could allow the virus to better bind to receptors in the upper respiratory tract of humans.
Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Minnesota, told the Associated Press news agency that the development is worrisome, but not terrible.
“Is this an indication that we may be closer to seeing a virus that is easily transmitted between people? No,” said Osterholm. “Right now, this is a key that sits in the lock, but doesn’t open the door.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a public health assessment in December that the impact of infections globally remains “minor”.
