The CDC confirms the Louisiana bird flu case and that it’s still going to be a serious illness in the U.S.

The CDC confirmed that the case in southwest Louisiana was a flu case. There’s no indication the person spread bird flu to others, and the case doesn’t change the CDC’s assessment that the risk to the general public remains low.

The virus has decimated poultry flocks and wild birds across the country and has infected more than 800 dairy herds in 16 states. People who come in contact with animals that have been killed are now at risk of contracting the virus. There have been 61 reported human cases of bird flu in the US since April. Of those, 37 had exposure to sick or infected dairy cows, while 21 had exposure to poultry farms and culling operations. In those cases, people developed conjunctivitis and mild respiratory symptoms and fully recovered.

Bird flu has previously been associated with serious illness in other countries, including outbreak that resulted in deaths in up to 50 percent of cases. 458 people died from the virus from 2003 to 2023, with 878 people testing positive for it.

He said that his agency is looking at any changes in the virus that could indicate it is evolving to cause more severe disease.

The case in British Columbia had certain types of bugs that could make it hard to get around, but a lot of research was needed to understand the ramifications.

Las Alonzo (Missiad): “Infections without a clear source of exposure did not lead to human to human transmission”

The reporters were referred to Louisiana officials for more information about how a person caught the virus and how they got sick.

“Infections without a clear source of exposure do occur, neither these cases nor the cases with known animal or animal products exposure have resulted in human to human transmission,” said Daskalakis.