A strain of bird flu never seen in humans infected a Washington state resident and left the person hospitalized, according to state health authorities.
Washington State Department of Health authorities announced that an older resident was hospitalized in early November with flu-like symptoms. Health department spokesperson Roberto Bonaccorso told USA TODAY on Nov. 19 that the person remains hospitalized. The person has underlying health conditions and keeps backyard poultry that were exposed to wild birds.
According to health department officials, the person is the first to be infected with influenza A H5, an avian flu. The risk to the public from bird flu is low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bonaccorso said the health department had seen no other infections related to the case.
The case out of Grays County, west of Seattle on the Pacific Ocean, is the latest in the spread of bird flu around the nation which has infected over 1,000 dairy cattle herds in 17 U.S. states since the virus was initially found in dairy cows in March 2024, according to the USDA.
There has been one confirmed death in connection with the disease. In early January, a backyard flock keeper hospitalized with bird flu in Louisiana became the first person in the United States to die of the disease after contracting the virus’s D1.1 variant. The individual was older than 65 years old and was reported to have underlying medical conditions.
State and local health departments are working with the Washington State Department of Agriculture to investigate the source of the latest infection.
Where does bird flu come from?
Bird flu is a disease caused by influenza type A viruses found in wild aquatic birds, according to the Washington health department. The virus can spread to other bird species and sometimes mammals.
Most human cases have occurred in people exposed to sick or infected animals, health authorities said. Human cases range from mild to severe. One person has died in connection with the disease.
According to the CDC, there have been 71 cases of bird flu in humans. Of the cases, 41 were connected to infected dairy cows; 24 were connected to infected poultry. California has seen the most cases with 38.
Symptoms are similar to the common flu, including fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, eye irritation and tiredness, according to the CDC.
Risk of bird flu tends to increase in the fall and winter as migratory birds carrying the virus move around the country, health authorities said.
There has been no person-to-person bird flu transmission, the CDC said.
Who is at risk?
The virus most commonly spreads among wild birds but can also infect poultry, livestock and other mammals, including goats, coyotes and opossums. An outbreak among chickens earlier this year prompted an extensive egg shortage.
Infection can lower a herd’s milk production by about a fifth, according to dairy industry experts.
Among those most at risk of infection are farmers, animal care providers such as veterinarians, and other workers exposed to infected animals or animal products.
Raw or undercooked foods, including cheeses, can also carry the virus. The death of at least three house cats was linked to eating raw foods contaminated with bird flu.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: First human case of bird flu linked to rare strain of virus
