FILE: : Battery hens sit in a chicken shed on February 6, 2007. (Credit: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana – The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed Monday that the patient who had been hospitalized with the first known severe case of bird flu, or H5N1, in the U.S. has died.
According to the health agency, the patient was over the age of 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions.
1st bird flu-related human death in US confirmed
The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.
“The Department expresses its deepest condolences to the patient’s family and friends as they mourn the loss of their loved one. Due to patient confidentiality and respect for the family, this will be the final update about the patient,” the LDH said in a statement.
LDH’s extensive public health investigation has identified no additional H5N1 cases nor evidence of person-to-person transmission. This patient remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana.
No other information about the patient was reported.
What is bird flu?
Acccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bird flu is a disease caused by avian influenza A viruses that usually spread between birds, not people.
Wild water birds are the hosts of avian influenza A viruses. Infected birds and other animals can spread the virus through their mucous, saliva or feces.
Human illness from bird flu has ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness, resulting in death. However, most human cases of H5 bird flu in the United States have been mild, to date.
Mild symptoms of bird flu include eye redness and irritation, mild fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuff nose, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue.
CA declared an emergency, how serious is bird flu?
Bird flu in California continues to threaten birds and cattle 34 people in the state have tested positive for the bird flu, but health agencies continue to stress that the risk to the general public remains low. LiveNOW’s Christina Evans breaks down the latest with Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert.
Less common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting.
The CDC said signs and symptoms of moderate to severe disease include high fever, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing and altered consciousness.
US bird flu outbreak
The Louisiana death comes weeks after Canadian officials reported that a teen in British Columbia was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu. In both instances, the illnesses were caused by a strain of the virus found in wild birds, not in cattle, officials said.
Louisiana’s severe bird flu case was also announced on the same day California’s governor declared a state of emergency last month as the virus rampaged through dairy cattle there.
Since March, more than 60 bird flu infections in people have been reported in the U.S., but previous illnesses have been mild and most have been detected among farmworkers exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows.
Current health risk to public remains low
While the current public health risk for the general public remains low, according to the health department, they said people who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk.
They noted that the best way to protect yourself and your family from H5N1 is to avoid sources of exposure. That means avoiding direct contact with wild birds and other animals infected with or suspected to be infected with bird flu viruses.
