Overview
- The Washington State Department of Health confirmed an older man from Grays Harbor County tested positive for H5N5 after being hospitalized with flu-like symptoms in early November.
- The patient, who has pre-existing conditions, remains in hospital care following confirmation of the first documented human infection with this subtype.
- Authorities report the man kept domestic poultry that had contact with wild birds, supporting a likely animal-to-human transmission.
- The CDC and state officials state there is currently no evidence of efficient human-to-human spread and assess the overall public risk as low.
- Prior to this case H5N5 had been found only in animals, and U.S. records list 71 human avian influenza infections overall, most involving H5N1.