US identifies 65-year-old man in Louisiana as first serious case of bird flu | Health News

Health officials say the 65-year-old man was taken to the hospital after coming into contact with an infected flock of birds in the backyard.

A 65-year-old man in southern Louisiana was hospitalized in critical condition as a result of the virus Bird fluBecoming the first serious case reported in the United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Wednesday that the person had been in contact with an infected flock of birds in the backyard. No cases of person-to-person transmission have been reported.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms the first serious case of H5N1 avian influenza in the United States. While the source of infection is still being investigated, the patient was found to have been exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks,” the agency said.

“This case does not change the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s overall assessment of the immediate public health risks from H5N1 avian influenza, which remains low.”

Demeter Daskalakis, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters that the Louisiana case was the first to be linked to a non-commercial swarm.

While experts maintain that the threat to public safety is minimal at present, the spread of the virus has raised questions about how to test and track outbreaks.

As of Wednesday, the CDC tallied 61 Confirmed human cases of avian influenza in the United States, most of which are linked to exposure to patients Poultry or dairy cows.

Avian influenza, or H1N1, is endemic — or occurs regularly — among wild bird populations. But its presence among livestock and pets increases the possibility of human infection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a strain of bird flu was first detected among U.S. dairy cows on March 25. “This is the first time these avian influenza viruses have been found in cows.” He said.

Shortly thereafter, on April 1, Texas reported its first human-to-human transmission of the virus resulting from exposure to a dairy cow. Since then, 37 of 61 human cases of bird flu have been linked to herds of infected dairy cows, and California has recorded 33 of these cases.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, there are 865 infected herds in 16 states. On Wednesday, California Announce A state of emergency to try to stop the outbreak.

“This announcement is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to quickly respond to this outbreak,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

His statement stressed that California boasts “the nation’s largest testing and surveillance system for outbreak response.”

“While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus,” Newsom said.

Some farmers have opposed the move to test commercial livestock for bird flu, and the US government itself has largely resisted mandatory testing, relying instead on voluntary efforts.

However, this position I turned On December 6, when the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Announce Samples of raw, unpasteurized milk from herds across the country will be tested.

The federal order requires any dairy farm, milk tanker or milk processing facility to share raw milk samples upon request.

Herd owners are also mandated to share any information regarding the spread of the disease among their livestock in order to allow federal authorities to track the spread of bird flu.

But the B3.13 genotype associated with avian influenza in cattle is different from the strain found in the Louisiana case, known as genotype D1.1. The CDC confirmed the case on Friday but did not announce its results until Wednesday.

In two cases — one in a child in California and the other in an adult in Missouri — the CDC has not yet determined how the patients became infected. A Canadian teenager He was also hospitalized last month due to a severe case of bird flu.

Bird flu killed 123 million people poultry Since the outbreak first began in the United States in 2022.