The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed the first case of “severe” avian influenza , commonly known as bird flu , less than a month after a child in California was diagnosed with the virus.
On Friday, the CDC confirmed a person from Louisiana had avian influenza A virus, H5N1 , after they were exposed to sick and dead birds in a backyard flock, according to a CDC press release. The patient was hospitalized, marking the first “severe” human case in the United States.
“While an investigation into the source of the infection in Louisiana is ongoing, it has been determined that the patient had exposure to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks,” the CDC said in a statement. “This is the first case of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. that has been linked to exposure to a backyard flock.”
The confirmation comes weeks after the first case of bird flu was found in a child in California . This year, 61 people in the U.S. have been infected with bird flu, according to the CDC.