A person in Washington state has become the first known human to die from the rare H5N5 strain of bird flu, health officials said, though they stressed the risk to the public remains low.
The patient, an older adult with underlying health conditions from Grays Harbor County, was hospitalized in early November after developing fever, confusion and breathing problems. Health authorities believe the infection came from the person’s backyard poultry flock, which had been exposed to wild birds.
Officials said no other related cases have been found and there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission. People who had close contact with the patient will be monitored as a precaution.
The CDC said earlier this month that this case does not increase the overall public health risk. H5N5 is not considered more dangerous than H5N1, which has caused around 70 mostly mild human infections in the US over the past two years, mainly among farm workers.
The two virus strains differ slightly in a protein that affects how the virus spreads between cells.
