WASHINGTON >> The Louisiana Department of Health said today that a U.S. patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu had died, the country’s first death from an outbreak of the virus that has sickened dozens of people and millions of poultry and cattle.

The patient, who was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized Dec. 18 in critical condition with severe respiratory illness.

The case in Louisiana is the first human death from bird flu in the U.S. during this current outbreak, but there was a death in Mexico back in May 2024 in a patient with no known exposure to farm animals. The case, much like the patient in Louisiana, was in a person with other underlying conditions, though it’s not clear what those may have been.

The Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday that a U.S. patient hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu had died, the country's first death from an outbreak of the virus that has sickened dozens of people and millions of poultry and cattle.

In December 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the first severe case of bird flu in a human in the U.S. was found in Louisiana.

The first U.S. bird flu death has been reported — a person in Louisiana who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms. Louisiana health officials announced the death on Monday. Health officials have said the person was older than 65,

The U.S. has recorded its first human death from bird flu, in a patient hospitalized in Louisiana. The case was considered the country’s first severe human H5N1 infection.