The Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday that an American patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu had died, the first death in the country from an outbreak of the virus that affected dozens of people and millions of birds and livestock.
About 70 people in the United States have contracted it since April, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mostly livestock workers exposed to sick chickens or dairy cattle.
The Louisiana patient contracted bird flu after exposure to a combination of backyard chickens and wild birds, state health officials said.
The patient was hospitalized on December 18. He was over 65 years old and had underlying medical conditions, authorities said.
“While the current health risk to the general public remains low, people who work with poultry, poultry or cows, or who have recreational exposure to them, are at greater risk,” the department said in a statement.
The CDC did not respond to a request for comment at first.
