Federal health officials say that not only has a Louisiana resident contracted the first severe case of bird flu in the U.S., but that the virus likely mutated in the patient. The findings raise concern regarding the adaptability of the virus.

A genetic analysis suggests the bird flu virus mutated inside a Louisiana patient who contracted the first severe case of the illness in the United States. The U.S.

Federal health officials have confirmed unsettling new details about the first United States case of severe bird flu,