Patient hospitalized with possible bird flu infection in Louisiana

A person in Louisiana is hospitalized with what may be the state’s first case of bird flu, state health officials said Friday.

The case involves “a resident of southwestern Louisiana,” the state Department of Health said on its website. “The individual had exposure to sick and dead birds that are suspected to have been infected with H5N1,” the virus that causes bird flu.

Public health officials there said they’re coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient is the second individual in the U.S. who has been hospitalized with the virus.

In a statement to NBC News, the CDC said that while Louisiana is leading the investigation, the agency “will be conducting confirmatory testing.”

Bird flu has been infecting dairy cows in the U.S. since the spring. As of Friday, the outbreak had spread to 845 dairy herds in 16 states, according to the Agriculture Department. The vast majority of those herds are in California.

Last week, the USDA ordered the testing of milk for bird flu to help better identify infections among herds and prevent further spread.

At least 60 human bird flu cases have been diagnosed in the U.S. this year. The majority of the cases have been in California and Washington and were in farmworkers who had been in contact with infected poultry or dairy cows.

That number is likely an underestimate. A November report from the CDC found evidence of asymptomatic bird flu infections in farmworkers.

There’s no evidence that the bird flu is spreading from person to person. Nearly all of the people who have gotten sick had direct contact with animals, except for a patient in Missouri who was hospitalized and a child in California.

The cases have largely been considered mild, and the main symptom reported has been conjunctivitis, or pinkeye. No deaths have been reported. A teen in Canada who was infected with bird flu last month got severely ill and needed to be hospitalized.

Studies so far on the nation’s pasteurized milk supply have been negative for infectious bird flu virus. The virus has been found in raw milk, however, which is unpasteurized.

The Louisiana Department of Health offered guidance to avoid getting sick:

• Do not touch sick or dead animals or their droppings, and do not bring sick wild animals into your home.
• Keep pets away from sick or dead animals and their feces.
• Avoid uncooked products such as unpasteurized raw milk or cheese from animals that have a suspected or confirmed infection.