A person in Louisiana who became severely ill with a bird flu virus known as H5N1 in December has passed away from the infection, marking the first known bird flu death in the US

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 first person to have a severe case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States has died, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.