First human bird flu death in U.S. reported by health officials

New York’s Staten Island. Louisiana health officials have reported the first avian flu-related human fatality in the United States.

The Louisiana Department of Health announced the death on January 6. The patient had been admitted to the hospital with the state’s first human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as H5N1.

According to reports, the patient had underlying medical issues and was older than 65. After being exposed to both wild birds and a non-commercial backyard flock, the patient developed H5N1.

According to Louisiana health officials, an inquiry into this patient’s sickness did not turn up any further human cases.

Experts in the flu have warned that when the H5N1 virus infections spread, fatalities could occur.

Dr. Richard Webby, who leads 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, told CNN that after studying the virus’s family tree for about 25 years, this is likely the most repulsive strain of the virus that they have encountered.Therefore, it is terrible but not surprising that it ultimately resulted in a fatal illness here.

According to the World Health Organization, over half of the approximately 900 human bird flu cases that have been reported worldwide since 2003 have resulted in death.

Although researchers don’t believe the virus kills half of those infected, CNN said that it would have a 50% case fatality rate, making it extremely deadly.

This is due to the fact that severe instances are more likely than mild ones to be recorded. Therefore, it is unlikely that mild ailments are included in that number.

However, given that the International Journal of Infectious Diseases calculated that the case fatality rate for the ancestor strain of COVID-19 was approximately 2.6%, it appears that the virus would still be considered dangerous even if the actual case fatality rate were ten times lower, at roughly 5%.

With the exception of one case that occurred following contact with infected farm animals, the first 46 human cases of H5N1 in the United States were determined to be almost all mild.

The D1.1 lineage of the bird flu virus, which is distinct from the one affecting dairy cattle, was the one that infected the patient from Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Health said the strain is circulating among poultry and wild birds.

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