“The patient was over the age of 65 and had an underlying medical condition,” the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement. statementSaying that health officials still underestimate the public health threat from the virus to the general public.
gave The patient tested positive And according to the health department, wild birds and flocks of private backyard chickens were exposed to severe illness that was infected with the virus. No other people in Louisiana have been diagnosed with the virus.
“CDC has carefully studied the information available about the person who died in Louisiana and continues to assess that the risk to the general public is low. The bottom line is that person-to-person transmission is unlikely.” No outbreak of transmission has been identified,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Monday.
H5N1 has been linked to at least Seven other deaths from other countries in recent years. Since 2003, the World Health Organization was counted More than 400 deaths from the virus.
Another American hospital patient Tested positive for the virus in Missouri last year, although officials said the man was not admitted because of the virus. Instead, the patient was in the hospital being treated for other pre-existing medical conditions.
Louisiana patient sickened by D1.1 strain of bird flu virus, genetic sequence determined by CDC last month.
Sequencing revealed that the patient’s virus had some rare and potentially disturbing mutations. Those genetic changes in the virus likely arose later during the person’s infection, the CDC investigation concluded, and were not found in the animals that likely infected them.
“However, and a reminder that A(H5N1) viruses can develop changes during the clinical course of human infection, these changes will be more worrisome if the infection occurs in animal hosts or during infection,” the CDC said. found in the early stages.”
The D1.1 strain is the same as the virus behind the severe disease of a. A 13-year-old girl who was hospitalized in Canada late last year.
Health authorities in the Canadian province of British Columbia said last year They were unable to identify the source of the infection, but found that the sequence of the virus closely matched wild birds that flew into the province in October.
This D1.1 strain of H5N1 bird flu is different from the B3.13 genotype that fueled this past year’s outbreak. Spread on dairy farms Across America
CDC, including the Louisiana case height 66 reported. Human cases from any of the H5 strains of bird flu from the previous year in the US.
How does bird flu spread?
Most human cases have occurred in workers who became ill with the B3.13 strain after working with infected cattle. None. Those human affairs are hospitalized or have died from the virus.
The CDC has said there is no evidence of “sustained human-to-human spread” of H5N1. There are some. Past outbreaks Overseas where the agency says “limited” H5N1 transmission is suspected to be occurring in small groups of people.
Wild birds or poultry have now tested positive for at least one of the H5N1 strains in every state. In November, Hawaii It became the 50th state to report detection of an infected bird. At least hundreds of cattle herds across 16 states. Also tested positive for H5N1.
“Although the current public health risk to the general public remains low, people who work with, or have recreational exposure to, birds, chickens or cows are at increased risk. Protect yourself and your family. The best way to protect against H5N1 is to avoid sources of exposure,” the Louisiana Department of Health said.
What are the symptoms of bird flu?
Bird flu causes a wide variety of causes Symptoms During recent outbreaks, including common flu symptoms such as cough and vomiting. Many have also had conjunctivitis or pink eye as their only symptom, which experts suspect is from contaminated cow’s milk splashed on cow workers infected with bird flu.
Most American cases have seen their symptoms resolve within four days of first becoming ill. The majority were also treated with the antiviral oseltamivir, also known by the brand name Tamiflu, which may have helped speed their recovery.
A hospitalized child in Canada initially had conjunctivitis and fever before later developing cough, vomiting, and diarrhea. He was later intubated after failing to breathe.