First death from bird flu in the US, no major public health risk feared. US officials

 There is no major public health risk, the patient was infected with the H5N1 virus through contact with domestic and wild birds. Louisiana State Department of Health statement

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Washington (UrduPoint News Today/ Latest News - International Press Agency. January 07, 2025) The first death due to bird flu has been reported in the United States, but health officials say there is no major risk to the public. According to the American broadcasting organization, bird flu cases in animals and humans have once again sounded the alarm for scientists and there are fears that it could take the form of a deadly epidemic.

The person who died from bird flu in the US state of Louisiana was 65 years old and was also suffering from other diseases. Health officials in Louisiana say that the infected person had been hospitalized since mid-December when the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) declared him the country's first case of being infected with the H5N1 virus. The Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement regarding the patient's death that although the risk to the general public is low, the risk is high for those who care for birds, poultry and cattle or work related to them.

The statement said that the patient was infected with the H5N1 virus through contact with domestic and wild birds, but there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus. Since the beginning of 2024, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded 66 cases of human bird flu infection across the country. Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor of epidemiology at Brown University in the US, said that there is enough data that it is clear that this virus can be deadly, but the H5N1 virus can be more deadly than the viruses we are worried about. This is why people feel more at risk from the virus spreading on animal farms and other places in the US and are demanding that the government take more measures.

Professor Jennifer Nuzzo says that she is more concerned that the spread of the virus is not being controlled and that taking more steps to protect people from being infected should be a top priority. The H5N1 virus was first diagnosed in 1996, but since 2020 it has started spreading widely in birds, while dairy animals have also been affected. The United Nations World Health Organization has recorded 950 cases of bird flu in 24 countries since 2003, most of which were infected in China and Vietnam.