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(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that its analysis of samples from the country's first severe case of bird flu last week showed mutations that did not appear in samples taken from an infected flock in the patient's yard.
The patient's sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, the part of the virus that plays a key role in its attachment to host cells, the CDC said.
The health authority said the risk to the general public from the outbreak has not changed and remains low.
Last week, the United States reported the first serious case of infection with the virus in a Louisiana resident over the age of 65, who was suffering from acute respiratory illness.
The patient was infected with the D1.1 genotype of the virus that was recently discovered in wild birds and poultry in the United States, and not the B3.13 genotype discovered in dairy cows, human cases, and some poultry in multiple states.
Mutations seen in the patient are rare but have been reported in some cases in other countries and most often during severe infections. One of the mutations was also seen in another serious case from British Columbia, Canada.
The CDC said no transmission from the patient in Louisiana to other people has been identified.
