A person in the state of Louisiana has died from avian influenza or bird flu, also known as H5N1, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) reported on Jan. 6, marking the first recorded human fatality from H5N1 in the U.S. “The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds,” LDH said in its press release. The department added its investigation had found no evidence the virus transmits from person to person. The patient, who was older than 65 years and reportedly had underlying medical conditions, “remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana,” LDH said. “Though H5N1 cases in the U.S. have been uniformly mild, the virus does have the capacity to cause severe disease and death in certain cases,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, infectious disease physician at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Reuters. Avian influenza viruses naturally occur in wild aquatic birds. Some of these viruses can also infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species, with some strains causing minor symptoms, while others can be deadly. A highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strain of the virus that emerged in Europe in 2020 has been particularly contagious and deadly. Mongabay previously reported that this strain has impacted at least 485 bird species and 48 mammal species, killing seals, sea otters, dolphins, foxes, albatrosses, bald eagles, pumas and polar bears. The current H5N1 animal pandemic has been aided by humans, Mongabay reported, with industrial-scale poultry farms helping the…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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