A Louisiana patient who had been hospitalized with severe bird flu has died, the first such fatality in the United States, state health officials reported on Monday.
The patient was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, the officials said. The individual became infected with the bird flu virus, H5N1, after exposure to a backyard flock and wild birds.
There is no sign that the virus is spreading from person to person anywhere in the country, and Louisiana officials have not identified any other cases in the state. Pasteurized dairy products remain safe to consume.
“I still think the risk remains low,” said Dr. Diego Diel, a virologist at Cornell University.
“However, it is important that people remain vigilant and avoid contact with sick animals, sick poultry, sick dairy cattle, and also avoid contact with wild birds,” he added.
The news comes on the heels of a report that virus samples from the patient carried mutations that might help it infect people more easily.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late last month that the mutations were not present in virus samples taken from the backyard flock, suggesting that they developed in the patient as the illness progressed.
