An American man is currently hospitalized after being infected with bird flu. This is the first serious case observed in the United States where avian flu has already decimated farms in California in particular.
A “first case of serious illness linked to the avian flu virus” has been detected in the United States. This is what was revealed in a press release published on Wednesday, December 18 the CDC, the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient was hospitalized in Louisiana, a state in the southeastern United States. According to information provided to the American channel ABC News, the patient is over 65 years old and suffered from underlying illnesses. He is said to be suffering from “a severe respiratory illness linked to avian flu infection” and is “currently in critical condition”.
This is the first case of H5N1 avian flu in the United States linked to exposure to backyard birds,” said the CDC. The man was apparently infected after being “exposed to sick or dead birds in “Avian flu very rarely affects humans, and when it does, patients are more generally contaminated via poultry or dairy cows. Since the start of the year in the United States, the epidemic of avian flu, however, worries American farmers. Hundreds of thousands of cases of avian flu have been detected in poultry and wild birds.
State of emergency declared in California, precautionary measures recalled
In humans, 61 cases have been reported since April 2024 in the United States, the majority of which in California, where a state of emergency was declared on December 18. “Although the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary measures to prevent the spread of this virus,” reassured the governor of California in comments published on the official state website.
Fortunately, the virus does not spread from person to person, a fact particularly scrutinized by health agencies. The people most at risk of being contaminated by avian flu are those who are “in contact with infected dairy cows, poultry or wild animals”, recalls the California Department of Health. “As a general precaution,” the CDC calls on the population to “avoid, to the extent possible, any contact with sick or dead animals, particularly wild birds and poultry.”
In the event of contamination, humans can suffer from various symptoms: cough, sore throat and headache, runny nose, vomiting, diarrhea or even muscle pain. More serious cases may suffer from pneumonia or even epileptic seizures. According to the CDC, this serious case in California is not the first serious case of bird flu in humans. “Infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus has previously been associated with severe human illness in other countries in 2024 and in previous years, including illnesses resulting in death.”
In France, the Ministry of Agriculture declared the country “free” from avian flu on Tuesday, December 17, since no new outbreak has occurred for a month. According to Public Health France“sporadic cases are regularly detected” in humans. But the agency wants to be reassuring: “The risk of transmission to humans of the avian influenza viruses currently circulating is low.”