NEW YORK — Health authorities confirmed on Wednesday that an individual in Louisiana has become the first person in the United States to experience severe illness associated with bird flu.
The individual reportedly had interactions with sick and deceased birds within personal backyard flocks, as stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Specific details regarding the patient’s symptoms were not disclosed immediately.
In the past, illnesses related to bird flu in the U.S. have generally been mild, predominantly affecting farmworkers who were in contact with sick poultry or dairy animals.
To date, over 60 cases of bird flu infections have been documented this year, with more than half occurring in California. In two cases, involving an adult in Missouri and a child in California, health officials are still investigating the modes of transmission.
The CDC verified the Louisiana case last Friday but waited until Wednesday to make it public. This instance marks the first confirmed human case in the U.S. associated with a backyard flock, according to the agency.
The patient from Missouri was also hospitalized; however, their hospitalization was attributed to reasons beyond the bird flu infection. In contrast, the Louisiana patient’s hospitalization stems specifically from flu-related symptoms, as noted by CDC officials.
Questions concerning whether the Louisiana patient had underlying health issues that could have increased susceptibility to illness or whether they required a ventilator were left unanswered by the CDC, who referred inquiries to state health officials. These officials had not provided a response at the time.
Last month, Canadian authorities reported that a teenager in British Columbia was hospitalized due to a serious case of bird flu. The CDC did not comment on whether the new case in Louisiana shared similarities with the Canadian case, advising reporters to seek answers from Louisiana health officials.
Despite these incidents, health officials maintain that bird flu remains primarily an animal health concern, reiterating that the risk to the broader public continues to be low. Furthermore, there have been no confirmed instances of the virus transmitting between individuals.
