SAHARA REPORTERS
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed the first case of severe bird flu in the United States.
According to the federal health agency, the patient is currently hospitalized in Louisiana, though no further details about their identity have been disclosed.
Genomic analysis revealed that the patient contracted a strain of the virus recently identified in wild birds and poultry across the U.S. This strain has also been linked to human cases in Canada and Washington state.
ABC News reports that the virus in this case differs from the strain previously found in dairy cows and poultry populations in the U.S.
According to the CDC, the Louisiana patient had contact with sick and dead birds in backyard flocks.
Meanwhile, this marked the first recorded human bird flu case in the U.S. linked to exposure to backyard poultry, although investigations into the source of the illness are ongoing.
However, since April, 61 cases of human bird flu have been reported in the U.S.
