Health authorities in the state of Louisiana reported on Monday the first death of a person in the US related to bird flu, emphasizing that the patient had concomitant diseases and the risks to the public remain "low", AFP reported, BNR reported.
The deceased was over 65 years old. and has been hospitalized in the southern state since at least mid-December, when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the first serious human case of the H5N1 virus.
"While the current health risk to the public remains low, people who work with birds, poultry or cows or are otherwise exposed to them are at increased risk," the Louisiana Department of Health said in a statement.
The patient contracted H5N1 through contact with domestic and wild birds. There have been no reported cases of other people being infected, nor evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus in the state.