America’s first bird flu death reported in Louisiana

CNN
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The first person to have a severe case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States has died, according to Louisiana Department of Health. This is the first human death from bird flu in the United States.

The individual, who was over 65 and reportedly had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized with the flu after exposure to a flock of backyard birds and wild birds.

Louisiana health officials said their investigation found no other human cases linked to this patient’s infection.

Flu experts have warned that the H5N1 virus would bare its teeth as infections spread.

“We’ve been studying the family tree of this virus for 25 odd years and this is probably the most unpleasant form of the virus that we’ve seen. So the fact that it finally caused a fatal infection here is tragic but not surprising,” said Dr. Richard Webby, who directs the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Since 2003, about 900 bird flu infections have been reported globally, and about half of those people have died, according to World Health Organization. That would give the virus a 50% fatality rate, making it extraordinarily lethal — but experts don’t actually think it kills half the people it infects.

Because severe cases are more likely to be reported than mild ones, mild illnesses are likely not counted in this figure.

But even if the actual death rate were 10 times lower – around 5% – it would still be a serious virus to contend with. The death rate of the ancestral strain of Covid-19 was estimated to be around 2.6%, e.g.

A recent one study by scientists from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the first 46 human cases of H5N1 in the US last year found that almost all of them were mild and all but one occurred after exposure to infected livestock.

The Louisiana patient was infected with the D1.1 clade of avian influenza virus, a strain that circulates in wild birds and poultry. It is different from the variant that circulates in dairy cattle.

Scientists don’t know if it’s linked to more serious disease in humans. D1.1 also infected a critically ill teenager who was hospitalized in Canada. The teenager, a 13-year-old girl, received intensive treatment and recovered, but investigators don’t know how she was exposed.

D1.1 infections have also been identified in poultry farm workers in Washington. These cases appear to have been milder.

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CDC reported In late December, a genetic analysis of the virus that infected the Louisiana patient found changes that are expected to improve its ability to infect the upper respiratory tract of humans and help it spread more easily from person to person. The same changes were not seen in the birds the person had been exposed to, officials said, indicating they had developed in the person after they were infected.

CDC officials continue to investigate the case by looking at the virus in “serial samples,” or blood samples taken from the patient over time. This will give them more information about how the virus developed in the patient’s body.

“The evolution of the virus is worrying but highlights how we need to prevent any possible contagious infection to reduce the risk of further transmission to others,” said Dr. Seema Lakdawala, a microbiologist and immunologist who studies influenza transmission at Emory University School of Medicine.

Although the overall risk to the public remains low, people who keep chickens and other birds in their backyards are at greater risk for bird flu, as are workers on dairy and poultry farms.

People who work with animals or who have been in contact with sick or dead animals or their excrement should watch for breathing problems and red eyes for 10 days after exposure. If they develop symptoms, they should tell their doctor about their recent exposure.

Other ways to stay safe include: