Genetic analysis of H5N1 bird flu viruses from a severely ill patient in Louisiana revealed multiple mutations that may enhance the virus’s ability to bind to human upper airway cells, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Thursday.

The first severe case of H5N1 bird flu was confirmed in Louisiana. Here is a map of other states that have been affected.

The United States has confirmed its first known severe human infection of H5N1 bird flu, in a person in Louisiana believed to have contracted the virus through contact with sick or dead birds in a backyard flock.

It was the fourth instance of H5N1 bird flu in a domestic flock in Vermont since the spring of 2022 and “emphasizes the ongoing need for vigilance as the disease continues to be

Public health officials are sounding the alarm after bird flu mutations were discovered in a Louisianan patient. Dozens of milder cases have been recorded in the U.S. this year.

The bird flu virus found in a severely ill patient hospitalized in the United States has mutated to become better adapted to human airways, though there is no evidence it

A patient in Louisiana became severely ill after contracting Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in a statement on Thursday. This is the first serious case of bird flu affecting a human reported in the US since the outbreak began.

The ongoing spread of bird flu in the United States has alarmed experts -- not just because of human cases causing severe illness, but also due to troubling new instances of infections in cats. A sample of the virus found in a critically ill patient in the United States has shown signs of mutating to better suit human airways,