CDC e NIAIDH5N1 (yellow bars) is transmitted through contact with infected animalsCDC e NIAID
The Louisiana Department of Health in the US reported the first human death linked to a highly pathogenic strain of the avian flu virus (H5N1). The patient was over 65 years old, had previous health problems, and had contact with sick and dead wild birds. In 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 66 mostly mild cases of bird flu caused by H5N1 among farmworkers exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. Before being identified in Louisiana, the D1.1 variant of the virus had been detected in a 13-year-old girl in Canada. In recent months, highly pathogenic avian influenza has caused the deaths of 47 tigers in zoos in Vietnam and 20 big cats in the USA. As of the end of December, Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply had registered 158 cases among wild birds, five in aquatic mammals, three in birds on smallholdings, and none in zoos, commercial poultry farming, or people. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) launched an interactive dashboard to track the situation in the Americas (BBC and AP, January 7).
Republish