The CDC previously confirmed the first severe human case of bird flu in Louisiana, but now the CDC has confirmed a virus mutation. Find out more here

Federal health officials say that not only has a Louisiana resident contracted the first severe case of bird flu in the U.S., but that the virus likely mutated in the patient. The findings raise concern regarding the adaptability of the virus.

In a positive finding, the CDC emphasized that there is no evidence the virus has spread from the Louisiana patient to others, and the mutations alone are unlikely to spread from person to person. CDC scientists also confirmed, however, that the Louisiana virus samples are closely related to candidate vaccine strains already developed for bird flu.

H5N1 usually spreads to people through contact with infected or dead birds, as with the Louisiana patient. Currently, there are no known cases of human-to-human transmission, said the CDC's Dr. Demetre Daskalakis.

In a case first reported in Louisiana, a patient has now developed the first known case of bird flu so severe as to require hospitalization.

A person in Louisiana has the first severe illness caused by bird flu in the U.S., health officials said Wednesday.

Federal health officials have attributed the deaths of birds in a “backyard flock” in Bossier Parish to the strain of avian influenza that has spread among poultry and livestock farms as well as 61 people so far.

Health experts are raising concerns after genetic sampling of the first severe H5N1 bird flu case in the U.S. Map shows US states where 'damaging' Arctic blast will hit first - and more to come Look inside the Breakers,

In 2024, at least 66 human cases of bird flu have been reported in the United States, each one raising the risk of another pandemic like COVID-19. So far, most cases have been described as “mild,” which means they weren't hospitalized.