The H5N1 bird flu has been reported to have caused the death of a patient in Louisiana. Such a case poses a significant threat to public health and can be considered an important stage in combating avian flu.

The Louisiana patient who contracted what officials said was the nation’s first “severe” case of avian influenza has died, the state health department said Monday. The person who contracted the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic bird flu in southwest Louisiana had been hospitalized since mid-December.

The first patient hospitalized with avian influenza in the United States has died in Louisiana, the state's department of health announced Monday.