Louisiana health authorities on Monday reported the first human death in the United States linked to bird flu, while noting the patient had underlying medical conditions and that general risks to the public remained "low.

A human has for the first time died in the United States after being infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus, health officials said on Tuesday. The resident of the state of Louisiana was over 65 years old and also had other health problems,

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.