On January 6, the Louisiana Department of Health announced that a patient hospitalized last month for H5N1 avian influenza had died, becoming the first U.S. death from the virus.
To make matters worse, samples taken from the individual suggest that the virus mutated within the patient after infectionβmeaning it had begun to adapt to infect humans betterβraising new questions about H5N1βs pandemic potential.
There have been 66 confirmed human cases in the U.S., the majority of which have resulted from exposure while working on poultry or dairy farms. Most cases are mild, and the risk to the general public currently remains low, but the escalation of high mortality in other mammals is another red flag for public health experts.
β οΈ BREAKING:
— SARSβCoVβ2 (COVID-19) (@COVID19_disease) January 17, 2025
H5N1 Cases Surge to Highest Level Since 2015, WHO Warns Virus Could Mutate to Spread Easily Between Humans, Saying "It's Only a Matter of Time"; Nearly Half of Infected Humans Have Died Since 2003.
Transmission lets the virus mutate or merge, creating new strains. pic.twitter.com/Kt3ZakJs7x
Please pay attention. https://t.co/QuIc3kuRXE
— Becky A Robertson (@AnciraBecky) January 18, 2025
Moderna Is Getting $590 Million From the U.S. to Accelerate a Bird Flu Vaccine https://t.co/Inm7Road7U
— Becky A Robertson (@AnciraBecky) January 18, 2025
