A Louisiana patient is the first person in the United States to die as a result of H5N1 infection. One expert likens what happens next to Russian roulette.

After the United States recorded its first human death from bird flu, calls for the government to do more has intensified.

The first human death from bird flu in the United States has intensified calls for the government to ramp up efforts to stave off the threat of another pandemic -- particularly ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.

The LDH revealed that the patient was over age 65, had underlying medical conditions and contracted bird flu after exposure to both wild birds and a non-commercial backyard flock.

The first human death from H5N1 in the United States is an event of historical significance, laying bare the destructive policies of the ruling class to the public’s health.

There is still a danger, however: a person in Louisiana recently became the first person in the country to die from H5N1. Louisiana health officials said the patient was over the age of 65 and had underlying medical conditions. They contracted bird flu after exposure to a personal backyard flock and also wild birds.

The death in Louisiana — involving a person with underlying health conditions — is the first human case in the United States linked to exposure to backyard birds, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The risk to the general population from H5N1 bird flu remains low, a World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday, following the first death of a patient from the virus in the United States.

The patient, who was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, was hospitalized weeks ago in critical condition with severe respiratory illness.

The first patient hospitalized with avian influenza in the United States has died in Louisiana, the state's department of health announced Monday.