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. This is the first human death from bird flu in the US. The person,

The patient, who was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized Dec. 18 in critical condition with severe respiratory illness.

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.