Overview
- The older adult from Grays Harbor County had been hospitalized in King County since early November and died on Nov. 21, according to state health officials.
- UW Medicine’s Clinical Virology Lab identified the virus as H5N5, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the finding.
- Environmental sampling detected avian influenza in the patient’s backyard flock area, indicating likely exposure from domestic poultry or visiting wild birds.
- No additional human infections have been identified, and health authorities say the overall public risk remains low with ongoing surveillance.
- The case comes as the CDC counts roughly 70 recent U.S. human bird flu infections, mostly H5N1, and represents the nation’s second bird flu death in 2025.