A person in Washington state has become the first known human to die from the rare H5N5 strain of bird flu, though health officials say the risk to the public remains low.
The patient, an older adult from Grays Harbor County with underlying health conditions, was hospitalized in early November after developing fever, confusion and breathing problems. Officials said the person had a backyard flock of poultry that had been exposed to wild birds.
State health authorities confirmed no other people linked to the case have tested positive and said there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Close contacts are being monitored as a precaution.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier that the case does not indicate an increased risk to the general public. Experts noted that H5N5 is not currently considered more dangerous than H5N1, which has caused dozens of mostly mild human infections in recent years, largely among farm workers.
The two strains differ mainly in a protein that affects how the virus spreads between cells.
