Two months shy of the fifth anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic, the US has recorded its first human death as a result of avian influenza H5N1 infection. The unidentified Louisiana man contracted the virus through contact with infected wild and domestic birds on his property

A researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital said the bird flu virus needs to be taken seriously so it doesn’t become the next pandemic.

The case in Louisiana is the first human death from bird flu in the U.S. during this current outbreak, but there was a death in Mexico back in May 2024 in a patient with no known exposure to farm animals. The case, much like the patient in Louisiana, was in a person with other underlying conditions, though it’s not clear what those may have been.

Most human cases of bird flu in North America have been mild, a fact that’s underscored by a new study of the first 46 confirmed human H5N1 infections in the United States this year. But the case of an ill Canadian teen stands out because of its severity and because the source of exposure remains a mystery.

On Monday, Louisiana health officials announced that a person hospitalized last month with a severe case of avian influenza — also known as H5N1 bird flu — died. This is the first human death from bird flu in the U.S.

Bird flu is increasingly sparking concern across the country and in Illinois, following news this week of the first human death from the virus in the U.S., and of birds found throughout Illinois with suspected cases of the illness.

The first human bird flu death was reported out of Louisiana on Monday, Jan. 6. The same case was the first serious case of H5N1 in humans in the U.S.

The first human patient in the United States with a confirmed case of avian influenza has died, according to a press release from the Louisiana Department of Health. The individual was older than 65 years and had underlying medical conditions and remains the only known human case in the state.

A child in California is presumed to have H5N1 bird flu, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Experts weigh in on the risk of a potential virus mutation.

The bird flu virus that killed 20 big cats in Washington and a pet cat in Oregon and is circulating among cows, poultry and wild birds isn't yet a threat to the general public, experts say. Why it matters: The first human death from bird flu isn't indicative of an imminent crisis,

As The New York Times reported, a senior with underlying medical conditions was hospitalized and died from bird flu around the start of the new year. The older adult is believed to have contracted the disease from a backyard poultry flock and wild birds,