The H5N1 hen flu virus has contaminated greater than 60 folks within the U.S. throughout this present outbreak.
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The U.S. has recorded its first loss of life in an individual contaminated with hen flu.
The affected person was a resident of southwest Louisiana who was hospitalized final month with the primary identified extreme case of hen flu within the nation.
On Monday, the Louisiana Division of Well being stated the individual had died from the sickness however shared few different particulars due to affected person privateness guidelines.
The affected person was over 65 and had underlying medical circumstances.
The affected person contracted the sickness after being uncovered to “a mixture of a non-commercial yard flock and wild birds,” in accordance to a press launch. An “intensive public well being investigation” didn’t flip up some other instances of H5N1 in an individual, or proof of human-to-human unfold.
Greater than 60 folks have caught hen flu throughout the present outbreak, primarily from shut contact whereas working with contaminated dairy cattle or poultry.
Whereas these instances have largely led to gentle sickness, traditionally different strains of hen flu have confirmed fairly lethal in people. Of the greater than 950 instances reported to the World Well being Group, about 50% have resulted in loss of life.
“Now we have 20 plus years of information displaying that it is a fairly nasty virus,” stated Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Middle on the Brown College College of Public Well being. “I’m not relying on future infections all being gentle.”
In November, a 13-year-old woman in British Columbia, Canada was hospitalized with hen flu. How she caught the virus is not clear. However her sickness was so severe she required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to maintain her alive.
That case underscores that it is “very tough to foretell who will turn out to be severely sick after an an infection,” stated Nuzzo. “We must always not low cost this newest loss of life in Louisiana as a result of the affected person had underlying well being circumstances.”
Genetic sequencing from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention signifies the H5N1 virus chargeable for each of those extreme sicknesses belongs to the “D1.1” genotype. Whereas it is a completely different genetic lineage than the virus infecting dairy cattle, it is nonetheless a part of the identical pressure circulating globally in wild birds and U.S. dairy herds — technically often known as clade 2.3.4.4b.
The virus seems to have picked up some worrisome mutations throughout the course of the Louisiana affected person’s sickness.
The identical could have occurred in Canada. In each instances, there is no indication others had been contaminated, although.
In an announcement on the Louisiana loss of life, the CDC reiterated that the danger to most people continues to be thought-about low, saying there are not any “regarding virologic modifications actively spreading in wild birds, poultry, or cows that may elevate the danger to human well being.”
The outbreak in dairy cattle not too long ago led California to declare a state of emergency and stored public well being officers on edge due to the elevated potential for the virus to spillover into people.
Their recommendation is to keep away from contact with wild birds, poultry, and rodents, and to clean your fingers after touching feces or objects that may very well be contaminated with saliva or mucus, similar to hen feeders.
Pets may catch the virus, notably from consuming uncooked meat or uncooked milk, which may additionally harbor excessive a great deal of the virus.
Edited by Jane Greenhalgh
