In a positive finding, the CDC emphasized that there is no evidence the virus has spread from the Louisiana patient to others, and the mutations alone are unlikely to spread from person to person. CDC scientists also confirmed, however, that the Louisiana virus samples are closely related to candidate vaccine strains already developed for bird flu.

Health experts are raising concerns after genetic sampling of the first severe H5N1 bird flu case in the U.S. Map shows US states where 'damaging' Arctic blast will hit first - and more to come Look inside the Breakers,

In 2024, at least 66 human cases of bird flu have been reported in the United States, each one raising the risk of another pandemic like COVID-19. So far, most cases have been described as “mild,” which means they weren't hospitalized.