Overview
- The patient, an older adult from Grays Harbor County hospitalized since early November, died after infection with the H5N5 avian influenza subtype.
- State testing detected avian influenza virus in the environment of the patient’s mixed backyard poultry, pointing to domestic birds or wild-bird contact as the most likely source.
- Officials report no evidence of person-to-person spread, and monitoring of close contacts has found no additional cases.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counts 71 U.S. human bird flu cases since early 2024 and confirms this as the nation’s second death in that period.
- Washington health authorities and the state agriculture department continue animal and environmental investigations alongside genomic and clinical analyses.