Louisiana health officials have confirmed the first U.S. death linked to highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). The patient, a man over 65 years old with underlying medical conditions, passed away after being hospitalized with the virus.

The Louisiana Department of Health reported that a 65-year-old man who was hospitalized with the bird flu (highly pathogenic avian influenza, HPAI) has died. It is the first reported human death in the U.

The person who died was older than 65 and contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.

Louisiana reported its first death in the US from bird flu. Local health officials stated that a patient who was admitted with a severe case of H5N1 avian flu passed away. The Louisiana Health Department confirmed the death.

In December 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the first severe case of bird flu in a human in the U.S. was found in Louisiana.

The first Louisiana patient with bird flu has died, officials with the state health department said Monday. The death is the first U.S. H5N1-related human death, the agency said.

The U.S. has recorded its first human death from bird flu, in a patient hospitalized in Louisiana. The case was considered the country’s first severe human H5N1 infection.

As bird flu wreaks havoc across the United States, with devastating consequences for birds, dairy herds, and even humans, the decision not to vaccinate poultry has increasingly come under scrutiny. While other countries have used vaccines as part of their strategy to control outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus,

The first severe human case of bird flu was recently reported in the U.S. Here are some ways the U.S. may be repeating the same mistakes as from the COVID-19 pandemic.