And Here We Go Again

So, we now have the first official death from H1N1 in the United States, at least the first official one.

Given the general lackadaisical approach of public health authorities meekly acquiescing to farmers refusal to test their chickens and cows, it certainly will not be the last death:

A patient in Louisiana has become the first human in the US to die of bird flu.

The Louisiana department of health reported on Monday afternoon that a patient who had been hospitalized in the state with the first human case of avian influenza has now died.

The patient was over the age of 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions, the department announced in a statement.

The patient contracted bird flu, officially known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or H5N1, after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.

A genetic analysis had suggested the bird flu virus had mutated inside the patient, which could have resulted in a more severe illness.

Mutating inside an infected person is kind of a thing for influenza viruses, and it will do so again.

This marked the first human case in the US linked to exposure to backyard birds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

We'll find others predating this, but it may take years of going through specimens in freezers.

The Louisiana department of health’s extensive public health investigation has identified no additional H5N1 cases nor evidence of person-to-person transmission. This patient remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana, the LDH added.

And now we are relying on the good graces and the competence of the state of Louisiana to keep us safe.

Well, I'm feeling reassured.