January 6, 2025 — The CDC is saddened by the report from Louisiana that a person previously hospitalized with severe illness from avian influenza A(H5N1) (“H5N1 bird flu”) has died. Although tragic, a death from H5N1 avian influenza in the United States is not unexpected due to the known potential for infection with these viruses to cause serious illness and even death. As of January 6, 2025, there have been 66 confirmed human cases of H5N1 avian influenza in the United States since 2024 and 67 since 2022. This is the first person in the United States to die from H5 infection. Outside the United States, more than 950 cases of H5N1 avian flu have been reported to the World Health Organization.; about half of them resulted in death.
The CDC has carefully reviewed the available information about the person who died in Louisiana and continues to assess that the risk to the general public remains low. Most importantly, no person-to-person transmission has been identified. As in the case of Louisiana, most H5 avian influenza infections are linked to animal-human exposures. Additionally, there are no virological changes of concern that are actively spreading in wild birds, poultry, or cows that would increase the risk to human health. (The CDC has previously reported on its analysis of viruses isolated from the patient in Louisiana.) However, people exposed to infected birds or other animals, through work or play, face a greater risk. risk of infection. For these and others, the CDC has developed prevention resources on how to protect yourself.
CDC:
- Support critical epidemiological investigations with state and local partners to assess the public health impact of each H5 case.
- Work closely with state and local partners to conduct active surveillance of H5 cases.
- Monitoring for changes that could suggest that H5 viruses are increasingly adapted to mammals and therefore could spread more easily from animals to humans or from humans to humans or cause more severe disease.
- Monitoring for any viral changes that could make these viruses less susceptible to available antiviral influenza medications or candidate vaccine viruses.
Additional information about H5 avian influenza is available on the CDC website.
Content source:
Office of Communications (OC)