12/19/2024

CDC Confirms First U.S. Case of Severe Bird Flu

This marks the first case of H5N1 in the U.S. this year resulting in hospitalization

The United States has now seen dozens of human bird flu cases this year, all of them mild—until now.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed Wednesday that a patient in Louisiana has been hospitalized with a severe case of avian influenza caused by the H5N1 virus. This marks the first instance of severe illness linked to the virus in the U.S.

The virus has decimated poultry flocks and wild birds across the country and has infected more than 800 dairy herds in 16 states. Infected animals have been spreading the virus to people who come into contact with them. Since April, the US has seen a total of 61 reported human cases of bird flu in eight states. Of those, 37 had exposure to sick or infected dairy cows, while 21 had exposure to poultry farms and culling operations. In those cases, people developed conjunctivitis and mild respiratory symptoms and fully recovered.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.