According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the first US bird flu
case linked to a backyard flock. A patient in Louisiana has been hospitalized with the first severe
case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus (“H5N1 bird flu”) in the US. CDC confirmed the presence of
the virus on December 13, 2024. USGS Biologist Science Tech Brooke Hill releases a Western Sandpiper
after testing it for the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Sonoma, California, on August 16, 2006
