A person in Louisiana is the first case of severe bird flu illness in the US, health officials said. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the patient had been in contact with sick and dead birds in backyard flocks. However, the symptoms of the person have not been revealed.

In the last few days, many dairy and farm workers tested positive for avian influenza, but all of these cases had been mild, and the vast majority had been those exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. This year, more than 60 bird flu infections have been reported, more than half of them in California. In two cases—an adult in Missouri and a teenager in California—officials have not determined how they got exposed to the virus.

According to the CDC, the Louisiana infection is the first US human case linked to exposure to a backyard flock.

Health officials say bird flu is still mainly an animal health issue, and the risk to the general public remains low. There has been no documented spread of the virus from one person to another.

According to experts, the best way to prevent H5N1 bird flu is to avoid exposure whenever possible. Infected birds shed avian influenza A viruses in their saliva, mucous, and feces. Other infected animals may shed avian influenza A viruses in respiratory secretions and other bodily fluids.

Doctors say bird flu or avian influenza is an infection from a type of virus that usually spreads in birds and other animals. Sometimes, humans can get bird flu from infected animals.

You might hear about bird flu when there’s an outbreak affecting large numbers of birds or other animals. This is concerning because it increases the risk of human infection, can affect wildlife, and can reduce the food supply.

There are many subtypes of H5N1 and the recent cases in humans in the US are influenza A (H5). The most common subtypes that have spread to humans in the past have been influenza A (H5N1) and influenza A(HThe types of proteins on the surface of the virus determine the names of these subtypes.

A few signs and symptoms of bird flu include:

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