The report of the first severe illness caused by the bird flu in the United States has been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A resident of Louisiana who is above the age of 65 and who also has an underlying health condition is in the hospital for critical condition after contracting the H5N1 avian influenza.
The Louisiana resident has had contact with six dead birds in the backyard flock.
This confirmation and report make it the first time that a person in the U.S. is linked to a backyard bird’s case. More than 60 counts of mild bird flu infections have been reported since nine months ago, especially among those that work on farms exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows.
While many cases have been mentioned, there is yet to be documentation of person-to-person transmission, as stated by Dr. Demetre Daskalakis of the CDC.
This new case of a Louisiana resident comes after a severe infection that was reported in a teen in British Columbia. The two cases are connected to wild bird strains, not cattle.
Despite the report by the CDC that bird flu remains a health issue for animals while it constitutes a low public risk, health officials continue to monitor the situation, given the possibility of the severity of H5N1 infections.
