Overview
- An older adult in Grays Harbor County was hospitalized in early November and tested positive for H5N5, the first documented human case of this subtype.
- The virus had previously only been detected in animals, and the patient kept a mixed backyard poultry flock with access by wild birds, which officials consider the likely source as the investigation continues.
- No human-to-human transmission has been identified, and more than 100 healthcare workers who cared for the patient were monitored with no additional infections reported.
- Federal and state teams are testing specimens and guiding treatment, and flu experts say H5N5 is expected to behave similarly to H5N1 in terms of human health risk.
- The CDC has recorded 71 U.S. human bird-flu cases and one death to date, mostly linked to H5N1 exposures involving animals.