The bird flu virus detected in a critically ill U.S. patient has shown mutations making it better adapted to human airways, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, authorities confirmed there is no evidence of the mutated virus spreading beyond the individual. The elderly patient, hospitalized in Louisiana with a severe H5N1 infection, remains in critical condition. The CDC's analysis, posted on its website Thursday, found that a small percentage of the virus in the patient’s throat carried genetic changes that may enhance its ability to bind to cell receptors in the human upper respiratory tract. Significantly, these mutations were not found in birds, including the backyard poultry flock suspected of initially infecting the patient. Instead, the CDC concluded that the mutations likely arose from the virus replicating within the severely ill patient. “No transmission of the mutated virus to other humans has been identified,” the C...
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