The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday that analysis of samples from the nation’s first severe case of bird flu last week showed that samples from infected backyard flocks were on the patient’s property. Variations not seen in
The patient’s sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, the part of the virus that plays a key role in binding to host cells, the CDC said.
The health agency said the risk to the general public from the outbreak has not changed and is low.
Last week, the U.S. reported its first severe case of the virus, a Louisiana resident over the age of 65 with severe respiratory illness.
The patient was infected with the D1.1 genotype of the virus that was recently detected in wild birds and poultry in the United States, not the B3.13 genotype found in dairy cows, human cases, and some poultry in several states. was
Mutations seen in patients are rare but have been reported in some cases in other countries and often during acute infections. One of the mutations was also seen in another severe case in British Columbia, Canada.
No person-to-person transmission has been identified in Louisiana, the CDC said.