The United States reports first human death linked to bird flu

A first human death linked to avian flu has been recorded in the United States, health authorities in the state of Louisiana announced on Monday, January 6, specifying that it was a patient who was suffering from other pathologies. This patient, aged over 65, was the first serious human case detected in the United States. He had been contaminated with the H5N1 virus by farmyard and wild birds.

Suffering from a respiratory ailment, he was in “critical condition”health authorities reported in December 2024, when his hospitalization was publicized.

The public health survey carried out “failed to identify additional cases of H5N1 or evidence of person-to-person transmission. This patient remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana”specifies the Ministry of Health of this southern state, on its website. This is why he considers that the risk presented by avian flu for the general public remains ” weak “. “People who work with birds, poultry or cows, or who are exposed to these animals as part of their leisure time” they run “higher risk”.

Genetic sequencing of the virus found in the Louisiana patient showed that it was different from the version detected in several herds of dairy cows and on poultry farms. And a small part of the virus showed genetic modifications suggesting that it may have mutated inside the body to adapt to human respiratory tract.

A level of virus circulation that worries experts

Sixty-six cases of avian flu in humans have been detected in the United States since the start of 2024, the vast majority being mild. But others could have gone unnoticed, recognize the American authorities. More worryingly, the virus has been detected in recent months in a handful of individuals with no known contact with an infected animal.

Although no spread of the disease between humans has nevertheless been observed, the level of circulation of the virus worries experts, particularly in the run-up to the inauguration of Donald Trump, who has expressed his wish to eliminate an agency responsible for preparation for epidemic risks.

The outgoing administration is, for its part, not exempt from criticism, with some experts deeming its response insufficient and warning of shortcomings in terms of contamination monitoring.

The authorities nevertheless announced on Friday that they would release 306 million dollars (around 297 million euros) to strengthen the national response to this threat by notably supporting epidemiological surveillance programs and medical research. “Even though the risk to humans is low, we always prepare for all possible scenarios”declared in a press release the American Minister of Health, Xavier Becerra.

Risk of virus mutation

For several months, the country has been facing an epizootic – the equivalent of an epidemic in animals – of avian flu. The virus circulates in poultry farms and cattle herds.

Avian influenza A (H5N1) first appeared in 1996, but since 2020 the number of outbreaks in birds has exploded and an increasing number of mammal species have been affected. Experts fear that high circulation of the virus will facilitate a mutation allowing it to be transmitted from one human to another. Some also fear it will mix with seasonal flu.

However, such a mutation is not the only one necessary to make a virus more contagious or even transmissible between humans, according to researchers interviewed by Agence France-Presse.

“Although tragic, a death from the H5N1 virus in the United States is not unexpected”also reminded the American Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) about the death reported in Louisiana. “Outside the United States, more than 950 cases of H5N1 avian influenza have been reported to the World Health Organization [OMS], and about half of them resulted in death »they report in a press release.

These human cases were recorded between 2003 and the end of 2024 in twenty-four countries, including a large number in China and Vietnam, specifies a WHO document.