Source link : https://health365.info/us-information-its-first-human-demise-from-hen-flu/
Colorized transmission electron micrograph of Avian influenza A H5N1 viruses. Credit score: Public Area
Louisiana well being government on Monday reported the primary human demise in america connected to hen flu, whilst noting the affected person had underlying clinical stipulations and that common dangers to the general public remained “low.”
The affected person, elderly over 65, were hospitalized within the southern state since a minimum of mid-December, when the United States Facilities for Illness Keep an eye on and Prevention (CDC) introduced it as the rustic’s first severe case of human an infection from the H5N1 virus.
“While the current public health risk for the general public remains low, people who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk,” the Louisiana Division of Well being stated in a observation saying the demise.
It stated the affected person had “contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds,” however had detected no additional H5N1 infections nor proof of person-to-person transmission within the state.
The quantity of hen flu circulating amongst animals and people has alarmed scientists over issues it will mutate right into a extra transmissible shape—probably triggering a dangerous pandemic.
For the reason that starting the 2024, the CDC has recorded 66 circumstances of hen flu in people in america.
“We have a lot of data that shows that this virus can be lethal, more lethal than many viruses we worry about,” Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor of epidemiology at Brown College, advised AFP.
“For that reason, people have been quite alarmed about these outbreaks that have been occurring on farms and other places in the US and have really been shouting for the US government to do more,” she stated.
Dying ‘now not sudden’
The CDC stated in December that genetic sequencing of the H5N1 virus from the Louisiana affected person used to be other from the model detected in lots of dairy herds across the nation.
And a small a part of the virus within the affected person had genetic changes that recommended it will have mutated throughout the frame to conform to the human breathing tract.
On the other hand, such mutations don’t seem to be the one factor that might make the virus extra contagious or transmissible between people, in line with researchers interviewed through AFP.
H5N1 used to be first detected in 1996, however since 2020, the selection of outbreaks amongst hen flocks has exploded, whilst a rising selection of mammal species were affected.
“While tragic, a death from H5N1 bird flu in the United States is not unexpected because of the known potential for infection with these viruses to cause severe illness and death,” the CDC stated in a observation.
The International Well being Group has recorded over 950 hen flu circumstances in people since 2003 in 24 international locations, together with a big quantity in China and Vietnam.
Nuzzo stated the announcement of the United States demise didn’t exchange her point of view, however underscored her “big worry about the relatively unchecked spread of this virus and the urgency of doing more to prevent people from being infected.”
“This is a nasty virus that no one wants to get,” she stated.
© 2025 AFP
Quotation:
US information its first human demise from hen flu (2025, January 7)
retrieved 7 January 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-01-human-death-bird-flu.html
This file is topic to copyright. Except any honest dealing for the aim of personal find out about or analysis, no
phase could also be reproduced with out the written permission. The content material is supplied for info functions handiest.
Author : admin
Publish date : 2025-01-07 10:24:04
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.