First death from H5N1 bird flu reported in the US
7 January 13:26
The first person has died from H5N1 bird flu in the United States. This was reported by CNN with reference to the Louisiana Department of Health, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
It is noted that the deceased person was 65 years old. He had concomitant diseases.
“The patient was hospitalized with influenza after coming into contact with a flock of poultry in the yard and wild birds,” the statement said.
Louisiana health officials said that their investigation had not found any other human cases linked to the patient’s infection.
As explained by doctors, the patient from Louisiana was infected with the D1.1 strain of the avian influenza virus, which circulates among wild birds and poultry. It is different from the variant that circulates among dairy cattle.
According to the World Health Organization, since 2003, about 900 cases of human infection with bird flu have been reported worldwide, and about half of them have died.
“This means that the virus causes 50% of fatalities, making it extremely deadly. But experts do not believe that it kills half of the people it infects. Since severe cases are more often reported than mild cases, mild cases are probably not included in these estimates,” the publication says.
