In a positive finding, the CDC emphasized that there is no evidence the virus has spread from the Louisiana patient to others, and the mutations alone are unlikely to spread from person to person. CDC scientists also confirmed, however, that the Louisiana virus samples are closely related to candidate vaccine strains already developed for bird flu.

Samples from a hospitalized patient in Louisiana show changes that could make the H5N1 virus spread more easily between humans

H5N1 usually spreads to people through contact with infected or dead birds, as with the Louisiana patient. Currently, there are no known cases of human-to-human transmission, said the CDC's Dr. Demetre Daskalakis.

A genetic analysis of viral samples from a patient in Louisiana hospitalized with the first severe case of bird flu showed mutations that may result in the virus becoming more transmissible

The Health (LDH) announced on December 13 the detection of the first presumptive positive human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or H5N1,

In a case first reported in Louisiana, a patient has now developed the first known case of bird flu so severe as to require hospitalization.

A person in Louisiana has the first severe illness caused by bird flu in the U.S., health officials said Wednesday.

Federal health officials have attributed the deaths of birds in a “backyard flock” in Bossier Parish to the strain of avian influenza that has spread among poultry and livestock farms as well as 61 people so far.

HPAI is considered low risk to humans, the agency said, and there have been no human cases in New England during the current outbreak. The post Bird flu detected in small backyard flock in Vermont appeared first on Boston.

Federal health officials say that not only has a Louisiana resident contracted the first severe case of bird flu in the U.S., but that the virus likely mutated in the patient. The findings raise concern regarding the adaptability of the virus.