LOUISIANA, La. (KLFY) -- The bird flu is in Louisiana. The CDC has confirmed someone in Louisiana is now the first person in the United States with a severe case of the virus.

Since April of this year, 61 people in the U.S. have been confirmed to have the bird flu.

"It's unfortunate that the severe case is a fellow Louisianan. We do hope that recovery is on the way," Rebecca Christofferson said.

Christofferson specializes in emerging viral pathogens at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. She said many animals have their own version of the flu.

"There's horse flu. There's whale flu. There's human flu. There's cat flu. There's flu for everything. Bird flu is simply flu that tends to circulate in bird populations," she said.

She said the strain of bird flu circulating in the U.S. is highly pathogenic, and it's spilling over into other populations.

"In this case, we have spillover into cattle and into people," Christofferson said.

In California, dairy cattle were infected. Cats were also infected from drinking raw milk.

"This year what we saw is spillovers into cattle, so dairy cattle, dairy farmers in particular, California. Then we've seen from raw milk, we've seen a couple cats get infected in Los Angeles. Just recently, there were some other cats from around the country that got infected," she said.

She added, "Then we've also seen cases pop up in backyard flocks, so backyard chickens, that sort of thing, and in the poultry industry as well."

The CDC said that's how the person from Louisiana was infected: from sick and dead birds in their backyard.

"What we have in the U.S. is a constellation of spillovers. It's not one spillover event that's spread to all these other places. It's a bunch of little spillovers," Christofferson said.

She said the backyard flock in Louisiana was likely infected by wild birds through saliva, mucus or feces -- how the bird flu is spread.

"In Louisiana in particular, we're right in the Mississippi flyway. So, we have a lot of migratory birds. So that's how we get this spillover from bird populations into other populations that wouldn't normally see bird flu," she said.

Christofferson said because agencies do not track flu in bird populations, spillovers can be hard to spot.

"I don't think it's time to panic just yet. I think you have a lot of people who are remaining vigilant. A lot of authorities in Louisiana are doing a good job of keeping our finger on the pulse there," she said.

She said people who hunt wild birds, work with poultry or have backyard flocks are most at risk of bird flu. If you have to be around chickens or birds, she advises to wear a mask, gloves, eye protection, and wash your hands frequently. Essentially, protect yourself how you would from regular respiratory viruses. 

"Watch chickens. If they look sick, don't touch them. If you feel bad, go to the doctor," Christofferson said.

The CDC said the person with a severe case of the bird flu in Louisiana is over 65 years old and has underlying medical conditions.

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