The first US bird flu death has been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the patient in Louisiana was hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms

A patient death in Louisiana has become the first in the nation to be linked to the highly contagious bird flu, which has been spreading among wild birds across the country.

Health officials in Louisiana say a person there has died after catching bird flu. This marks the first reported death in the U.S. from the virus during the current outbreak.