Louisiana

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As US marks first H5N1 bird flu death, WHO and CDC say risk remains low

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The H5N1 bird flu situation in the US seems more fraught than ever this week as the virus continues to spread swiftly in dairy cattle and birds while sporadically jumping to humans.

On Monday, officials in Louisiana announced that the person who had developed the country’s first severe H5N1 infection had died of the infection, marking the country’s first H5N1 death. Meanwhile, with no signs of H5N1 slowing, seasonal flu is skyrocketing, raising anxiety that the different flu viruses could mingle, swap genetic elements, and generate a yet more dangerous virus strain.

But, despite the seemingly fever-pitch of viral activity and fears, a representative for the World Health Organization today noted that risk to the general population remains low—as long as one critical factor remains absent: person-to-person spread.

“We are concerned, of course, but we look at the risk to the general population and, as I said, it still remains low,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told reporters at a Geneva press briefing Tuesday in response to questions related to the US death. In terms of updating risk assessments, you have to look at how the virus behaved in that patient and if it jumped from one person to another person, which it didn’t, Harris explained. “At the moment, we’re not seeing behavior that’s changing our risk assessment,” she added.

In a statement on the death late Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized that no human-to-human transmission has been identified in the US. To date, there have been 66 documented human cases of H5N1 infections since the start of 2024. Of those, 40 were linked to exposure to infected dairy cows, 23 were linked to infected poultry, two had no clear source, and one case—the fatal case in Louisiana—was linked to exposure to infected backyard and wild birds.

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Flu surges in Louisiana as health department barred from promoting flu shots

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The statement seemed to offer an assurance that other vaccines were not subject to the new restrictions. “Changes regarding seasonal vaccines like COVID and influenza do not change the Department’s policy or messaging regarding childhood immunizations,” it read.

This flu season, the health department has reportedly canceled standard vaccination events and clinics. On social media, the department has avoided mentioning flu shots in posts about the flu, instead advising people to wash their hands and cover their coughs.

While Louisiana is seeing an early surge in influenza, the rest of the country is on an upward trend in what appears to be a normal-looking season so far. Nationally, the percentage of doctor visits that were for ILIs is 3.8 percent, with the upswing in ILI activity similar to what was seen in the 2019–2020 flu season at this point in the year. At the peak of flu seasons, the percentage of visits for ILIs usually tops out around 7 percent to 8 percent.

US ILI activity charted by week across several flu seasons Credit: CDC

Two children died last week of flu, bringing the season’s total pediatric deaths to four. In the 2023–2024 season, 206 children died with influenza-associated disease. Most of the deaths occurred in early 2024.

COVID-19 is also ramping up a winter wave. While standard disease burden indicators—hospitalization and deaths—are low, they’re trending positive. Wastewater surveillance, meanwhile, is showing a steep incline, with levels of the virus being detected at “moderate” levels.

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Louisiana bars health dept. from promoting flu, COVID, mpox vaccines: Report

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Louisiana’s health department has been barred from advertising or promoting vaccines for flu, COVID-19, and mpox, according to reporting by NPR, KFF Health News, and New Orleans Public Radio WWNO.

Their investigative report—based on interviews with multiple health department employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation—revealed that employees were told of the startling policy change in meetings in October and November and that the policy would be implemented quietly and not put into writing.

Ars Technica has contacted the health department for comment and will update this post with any new information.

The health department provided a statement to NPR saying that it has been “reevaluating both the state’s public health priorities as well as our messaging around vaccine promotion, especially for COVID-19 and influenza.” The statement described the change as a move “away from one-size-fits-all paternalistic guidance” to a stance in which “immunization for any vaccine, along with practices like mask wearing and social distancing, are an individual’s personal choice.”

According to employees, the new policy cancelled standard fall flu vaccination events this year and affects every other aspect of the health department’s work, as NPR explained:

“Employees could not send out press releases, give interviews, hold vaccine events, give presentations or create social media posts encouraging the public to get the vaccines. They also could not put up signs at the department’s clinics that COVID, flu or mpox vaccines were available on site.”

“We’re really talking about deaths”

The change comes amid a dangerous swell of anti-vaccine sentiment and misinformation in Louisiana and across the country. President-elect Trump has picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—a high-profile anti-vaccine advocate and one of the most prolific spreaders of vaccine misinformation—to head the US Department of Health and Human Services.

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Louisiana resident in critical condition with H5N1 bird flu

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The Louisiana resident infected with H5N1 bird flu is hospitalized in critical condition and suffering from severe respiratory symptoms, the Louisiana health department revealed Wednesday.

The health department had reported the presumptive positive case on Friday and noted the person was hospitalized, as Ars reported. But a spokesperson had, at the time, declined to provide Ars with the patient’s condition or further details, citing patient confidentiality and an ongoing public health investigation.

This morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that it had confirmed the state’s H5N1 testing and determined that the case “marks the first instance of severe illness linked to the virus in the United States.”

In a follow-up, the health department spokesperson Emma Herrock was able to release more information about the case. In addition to being in critical condition with severe respiratory symptoms, the person is reported to be over the age of 65 and has underlying health conditions.

Further, the CDC collected partial genetic data of the H5N1 strain infecting the patient, finding it to be of D1.1. genotype, which has been detected in wild birds and some poultry in the US. Notably, it is the same genotype seen in a Canadian teenager who was also hospitalized in critical condition from the virus last month. The D1.1. genotype is not the same as the one circulating in US dairy cows, which is the B3.13 genotype.

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