Yesterday, health officials in Louisiana announced that a patient who was hospitalized with severe bird flu in December has died. The individual contracted bird flu after exposure to a backyard flock and wild birds. It is the first death recorded in the United States attributed to H5N1, or avian influenza.
The person was over the age of 65 and reportedly had underlying medical conditions. The Louisiana Health Department has not released any more details about the patient.
A total of 66 people in the US tested positive for bird flu in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In all of the other cases, people developed mild symptoms