The deceased was over 65 and had other medical conditions, state officials said. A Louisiana patient who had been hospitalized with severe bird flu has died, the first such fatality in the United States, state health officials reported on Monday.

The first human death from bird flu in the United States has intensified calls for the government to ramp up efforts to stave off the threat of another pandemic -- particularly ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

The death in Louisiana — involving a person with underlying health conditions — is the first human case in the United States linked to exposure to backyard birds, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The patient, who was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized weeks ago in critical condition with severe respiratory illness.

Bird flu is suspected to have caused the death of multiple wild birds recovered across the state last week, New Jersey Fish and Wildlife announced. At least seven snow geese, two Canada geese, and two hawks have yielded presumptive positive results so far for avian influenza,

As The New York Times reported, a senior with underlying medical conditions was hospitalized and died from bird flu around the start of the new year. The older adult is believed to have contracted the disease from a backyard poultry flock and wild birds,

Two months shy of the fifth anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic, the US has recorded its first human death as a result of avian influenza H5N1 infection. The unidentified Louisiana man contracted the virus through contact with infected wild and domestic birds on his property