The first severe case of avian influenza in the United States...California State of Emergency Declared

The U.S. media reported the first severe case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in the United States.

According to the Associated Press and CNN, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on the 18th local time that a patient in Louisiana was hospitalized with avian influenza and showed serious symptoms.

The patient is believed to have been exposed to sick or dead poultry raised on his estate, the CDC explained.

The poultry the patient came into contact with is not commercial and has never been exposed to dairy cows or related foods, authorities added.

This year, the H5N1 virus has spread to hundreds of dairy farms in the United States, and it has been transmitted to humans, with 61 cases reported so far since April.

In California, where 34 of the 61 reported cases occurred, a state of emergency was declared in response to the spread of H5N1.

In California, 33 out of 34 cases occurred on dairy farms where cows were raised, and one case had no identified source of infection.