The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the first severe case of bird flu in a human in the U.S. has been found in Louisiana.
The person, whose name was not released, tested positive for H5N1 bird flu and is in a hospital, The Washington Post reported.
The person had contact with a a backyard flock and worked with sick or dead poultry.
The case was confirmed on Friday but only released on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
The genetic sequencing is the same version of the virus that has been found in wild birds and poultry in the U.S. as well as human cases in British Columbia and Washington state, the Post reported. That version is the D1.1 variant, CNN reported. It is different than the bird flu found in dairy cows, some people and poultry outbreaks in other parts of the country. That is the B3.13 version.
The patient’s symptoms and timeline have not been shared, due to privacy. But other mild cases of bird flu in humans have presented with pink eye or mild respiratory symptoms. There have been about 60 known, mild cases of bird flu in the U.S., most among farm workers and everyone has fully recovered, the AP reported.
In the past 25 years, there have been more than 900 cases of H5N1 all over the world, not counting the U.S. The infections in those cases were severe and about 50% ended in death.
Federal health experts still said that bird flu is mainly affecting animals and that the risk to humans is still low. There has not been a case documented that it has spread from person to person, the AP reported.
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