U.S. RECORDS ITS FIRST HUMAN DEATH LINKED TO BIRD FLU

Louisiana health authorities on Monday reported the first human death in the United States linked to bird flu, while noting the patient had underlying medical conditions and that general risks to the public remained "low".

- Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON:

The patient, aged over 65, had been hospitalized in the southern state since at least mid-December, when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it as the country's first serious case of human infection from the H5N1 virus.

"While the current public health risk for the general public remains low, people who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk," the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement announcing the death.

It said the patient had "contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds", but had detected no further H5N1 infections nor evidence of person-to-person transmission in the state.