Patient hospitalized with possible bird flu infection in Louisiana
A person in Louisiana is hospitalized with what may be the state’s first case of bird flu, state health officials said Friday.
A person in Louisiana is hospitalized with what may be the state’s first case of bird flu, state health officials said Friday.
The case involves “a resident of southwestern Louisiana,” the state Department of Health said on its website. “The individual had exposure to sick and dead birds that are suspected to have been infected with H5N1,” the virus that causes bird flu.
Public health officials there said they’re coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient is the second individual in the U.S. who has been hospitalized with the virus.
In a statement to NBC News, the CDC said that while Louisiana is leading the investigation, the agency “will be conducting confirmatory testing.”
Bird flu has been infecting dairy cows in the U.S. since the spring. As of Friday, the outbreak had spread to 845 dairy herds in 16 states, according to the Agriculture Department. The vast majority of those herds are in California.
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