H5N1 bird flu claims first US death, raises alarm
A fatal case of H5N1 bird flu infection has been confirmed in Louisiana, marking the first such instance in the USA, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
The deceased was over 65 years old and had existing health conditions. They were hospitalized with bird flu symptoms, which they contracted after contact with a backyard flock and wild birds. Louisiana health officials have stated that their investigation found no other human cases linked to this patient's infection.
Flu experts warn that the H5N1 virus may become more dangerous as it spreads. "We have been studying the genealogy of this virus for about 25 years and this is probably the most dangerous form we have seen. The fact that it has finally caused a fatal infection here is tragic but not surprising," said Dr. Richard Webby, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
The virus is spreading
Since 2003, approximately 900 cases of bird flu infections in humans have been reported worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, the virus has a mortality rate of 50 per cent, making it extremely deadly. For comparison, the mortality rate for the original strain of COVID-19 was estimated at about 2.6 per cent.
However, experts reassure that mortality statistics for the disease almost exclusively concern the most severe cases, which are more likely to be reported.
A recent study by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on the first 46 cases of H5N1 virus infection in humans in the USA last year found that almost all were mild and, apart from one, occurred after contact with infected farm animals.
Dangerous variant is spreading
The patient in Louisiana was infected with the D1.1 variant of the bird flu virus, which differs from the variant circulating in dairy cattle. Scientists do not know if it is associated with more severe illness in humans. The D1.1 variant also infected a 13-year-old girl from Canada, whose condition was critical. The teenager recovered, but doctors are unable to determine how she became infected.
D1.1 infections have also been identified in poultry farm workers in Washington state. These cases were, however, milder.
Source: CNN, WP News
