The World Health Organization (WHO) on Jan. 7 responded to the first H5N1 avian influenza death recorded in the United States, which was confirmed by officials in Louisiana the previous day.
“We are concerned, of course, but we look at the risk to the general population, and ... it still remains low,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told reporters at a Geneva press briefing in response to questions about the risks of the virus.
Asked whether U.S. monitoring of the virus was sufficient, she said: “They are doing a lot of surveillance. That’s why we’re hearing about it.”
More than 60 people in the United States have contracted bird flu since April, most of them farm workers and dairy farm employees, officials said. It comes as the virus circulates among dairy cattle herds and poultry flocks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported.
Like the WHO, both federal and state officials have stated the risk to the general public from H5N1 remains low.
Authorities in Louisiana said that the person who died had contracted H5N1 after being exposed to wild birds and a “non-commercial backyard flock,” while adding there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission of the virus in the state. It’s also the only confirmed human case of H5N1 in the state, according to the department.
The virus, also known as Type A H5N1, was detected for the first time in U.S. dairy cattle in March 2024. Since then, bird flu has been confirmed in at least 80 herds in 16 states.
In November 2024, Canadian officials reported that a teen in British Columbia, Canada, was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu.
Health officials have stressed that bird flu is still mainly an animal health issue and that the risk to the public remains low. No spread of the virus from person to person has been documented in the United States or elsewhere.
On Dec. 18, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared an emergency over H5N1, saying the decision was precautionary and because of cases found in dairy cattle. That declaration followed official confirmation that the Louisiana person who developed bird flu was hospitalized.
“The detection of a severe human case with genetic changes in a clinical specimen underscores the importance of ongoing genomic surveillance in people and animals, containment of avian influenza outbreaks in dairy cattle and poultry, and prevention measures among people with exposure to infected animals or environments,” the agency said.
Federal and state health officials have recommended people stay away from sick or dead animals, avoid contact with wild birds or domestic birds that appear ill or have died, and refrain from consuming raw milk or products containing raw milk.
