Washington resident dies after bird flu exposure at Yakima County dairy
Health officials reported the death of a Washington state resident with underlying health conditions as Yakima County confirmed its third human bird flu case.
By Kofi Greco ·
A Washington state resident who contracted bird flu following exposure at a dairy with infected cattle in Yakima County died on Sunday, local health officials said. The resident had been hospitalized with severe illness. Officials did not release the person's identity but said the individual had underlying health conditions.
According to the Associated Press, the death is the first in the United States this year from complications linked to bird flu. In its announcement, the Yakima health district expressed condolences to the person's family, friends and loved ones. The district said the resident's exposure to avian influenza occurred at a dairy in the county.
The death comes amid infections in local dairy herds. Yakima County officials have reported that 33 herds have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza since early October. The health district said it is working with the Washington state department of health to monitor human bird flu cases in the county, where three cases have now been confirmed.
The district also disclosed the third confirmed human case in its Sunday statement. That person had been exposed to infected dairy cattle at a Yakima County dairy. Officials said the individual had neither developed severe illness nor needed hospital treatment.
Public health partners are helping officials identify and contact people who may have been in close contact with that individual. The effort is intended to allow those contacts to be monitored for symptoms, according to the district's statement.
County officials said the risk of infection remains low for the general public. They identified dairy workers and people with close or prolonged exposure to infected animals as being at greater risk. Contact with environments contaminated by the virus also places people at greater risk, officials said.
Officials described transmission between people as extremely rare and said it has never been documented in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also maintains that there is no known person-to-person spread and that the public's overall risk remains low.
CDC data show 72 human bird flu cases recorded nationwide since 2024. The agency announced the country's first death from bird flu complications in January 2025, preceding the Washington death reported on Sunday.
Source: The Guardian
