Louisiana reports first H5N1 bird flu death in U.S.

The Louisiana Department of Health yesterday announced that a patient hospitalized last month for H5N1 bird flu has died, becoming the first U.S. death from the virus. The agency said the individual contracted the virus after exposure to a combination of a backyard flock and wild birds.  
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that no person-to-person transmission has been identified. As of Jan. 7, the CDC said, there have been 67 confirmed human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. since 2022 and the risk of bird flu to the general public remains low.