The first person to have a severe case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States has died, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

The first U.S. bird flu death has been reported. Louisiana health officials announced the death Monday of a person who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms.

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

The first severe human death from bird flu (H5N1) in the U.S. was confirmed in Louisiana, involving a patient with underlying conditions. The patient contracted the virus after exposure to non-commercial backyard birds and wild birds. Public health risk remains low for the general public, but those working with birds or animals have a higher risk.

A U.S. patient who had been hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu has died, the Louisiana Department of Health said on Monday, marking the country's first reported human death from the virus.

Amid an escalating bird flu outbreak spreading in the United States, federal health officials have begun to brief members of the incoming Trump administration about how they’ve responded so far to the crisis.

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,