The Louisiana Department of Health announced Monday that a U.S. patient hospitalized with H5N1 avian flu had died, the nation’s first death following an outbreak of the virus that has sickened dozens of people and millions of poultry and livestock. cattle.
Nearly 70 people in the United States have contracted bird flu since April, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most of them farmers exposed to sick chickens or dairy cattle.
The Louisiana patient, the first person in the country to be hospitalized with the virus, contracted bird flu after being exposed to a combination of backyard chickens and wild birds, Louisiana health officials said . The patient was hospitalized Dec. 18, state health officials said.
The patient was older than 65 and had underlying health conditions, officials said.
“While the current public health risk remains low, people who work with, or are recreationally exposed to, birds, poultry or cows are at higher risk,” the ministry said in a statement. press release.
The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.