With reports of the first human death from bird flu in the US, some Americans are feeling an uncomfortable flashback to the early days of Covid-19, when infectious disease experts were talking about a new virus that was sending people to the hospital with respiratory infections.

In the wake of the death of an Oregon house cat from avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, experts are urging caution with what you feed your pets. Why it matters: The Washington County cat died last month after eating frozen raw cat food made from infected turkey,

The death of a Louisiana resident who was over the age of 65 signals that future H5N1 infections are not guaranteed to be mild, health experts say

On Monday, Louisiana health officials announced that a person hospitalized last month with a severe case of avian influenza — also known as H5N1 bird flu — died. This is the first human death from bird flu in the U.S.

Medical experts advise that people should get a vaccine for the bird flu when it becomes commercially available. One doctor said the most at-risk patients should be first.

A ny time a person catches H5N1, or bird flu, their infection is a chance for the virus to mutate in the wrong direction. When someone dies from the bird flu—as an elderly Louisiana man did on Jan. 6, becoming the first U.S. death from the disease—experts get especially concerned.

Bird flu is increasingly sparking concern across the country and in Illinois, following news this week of the first human death from the virus in the U.S., and of birds found throughout Illinois with suspected cases of the illness.

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 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.