Louisiana reports 1st bird flu-related death in US, state agency says

The Louisiana Department of Health said Monday that a U.S. patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu had died, the nation’s first death from an outbreak of the virus that has sickened dozens of people and millions of poultry and cattle.

Nearly 70 people in the United States have contracted bird flu since April, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of them livestock workers exposed to sick chickens or dairy cattle.

The Louisiana patient, the first person in the country to be hospitalized with the virus, contracted bird flu after exposure to a combination of backyard chickens and wild birds, Louisiana health officials said. The patient was admitted Dec. 18, state health officials said.

The patient was over 65 and had underlying medical conditions, officials said.

“While the current public health risk to the general public remains low, people who work with birds, poultry or cows, or who have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk,” the department said in a statement.

The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.