A patient who had been hospitalized with the first human case of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Louisiana has died, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) confirmed.
The patient was over the age of 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions. The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initially reported this case as the first instance of human H5N1 in the United States to be described as “severe.”
LDH stated that its extensive public health investigation identified no additional H5N1 cases nor evidence of person-to-person transmission. This patient remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana.
The identity of the patient was not disclosed, nor was information about where in Louisiana this infection occurred.
“The Department expresses its deepest condolences to the patient’s family and friends as they mourn the loss of their loved one. Due to patient confidentiality and respect for the family, this will be the final update about the patient,” LDH stated.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Louisiana had two backyard flocks affected by HPAI in December. One was in Bossier Parish and the other in Jefferson Davis Parish. Those are the only two instances of HPAI in birds to be reported by APHIS during the entire 2022-25 outbreak.
The Department expresses its deepest condolences to the patient’s family and friends as they mourn the loss of their loved one. Due to patient confidentiality and respect for the family, this will be the final update about the patient.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
