On Jan. 3, she was transported to a pediatric hospital in critical condition after suffering septic shock and being diagnosed with pneumonia. She tested positive for the H5N1 strain on Jan. 7 and remained hospitalized, under sedation and on a ventilator as of Jan. 17, the international health organization stated.
The previously healthy girl becomes the seventh individual the virus has sickened since 2020, according to the World Health Organization. While H5N1 is considered highly infectious, that’s only among birds. It’s typically difficult for the virus to make the leap to humans, and transmission from human to human is “unusual,” the international health organization says.
When the virus does make the leap, however, it’s highly fatal, with a mortality rate of greater than 50% among humans, according to the CDC.
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