Any time a person catches H5N1, or bird flu, their infection is a chance for the virus to mutate in the wrong direction. When someone dies from the bird flu—as an elderly Louisiana man did on Jan. 6,

With reports of the first human death from bird flu in the US, some Americans are feeling an uncomfortable flashback to the early days of Covid-19, when infectious disease experts were talking about a new virus that was sending people to the hospital with respiratory infections.

The patient, who was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized weeks ago in critical condition with severe respiratory illness.

The first person to have a severe case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States has died, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

Louisiana has reported the first U.S. fatality from avian influenza. Most of the country’s human cases have been mild

The first U.S. bird flu death has been reported. Louisiana health officials announced the death Monday of a person who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms.

The deceased was over 65 and had other medical conditions, state officials said. A Louisiana patient who had been hospitalized with severe bird flu has died, the first such fatality in the United States, state health officials reported on Monday.

Hundreds of Canadian geese have been found dead this winter in Owatonna, Albert Lea, Waseca and other southern Minnesota cities.

The risk to the general population from H5N1 bird flu remains low, a World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday, following the first death of a patient from the virus in the United States.