A person in Washington state has died from complications of bird flu after exposure to infected cattle at a dairy in Yakima County, the first such U.S. death in a year. County health officials said the resident had previous health conditions, had been hospitalized, and died Sunday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the person was infected with H5N1. Yakima County officials did not release additional details, but the death adds to a small number of fatal U.S. bird flu cases since the virus became a national public health concern in 2024.
The local outbreak picture
County officials have reported that 33 dairy herds recently tested positive for H5N1. They said three human infections have been linked to exposure at a dairy, and that the Yakima Health District is working with the state health department to identify people who were in close contact with those individuals and monitor them for symptoms.
The latest death points to the occupational risk around infected livestock rather than a broader change in transmission. More than 70 human infections have been reported in the U.S. since the beginning of 2024, according to the CDC, after H5N1 spread widely among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals for several years. Health concerns escalated in early 2024 when infections spread among U.S. livestock, increasing the chances of human exposure.
What the CDC found
The CDC said there is no known person-to-person spread and that the risk to the general public is low. A CDC spokesperson said Monday that the agency analyzed the genetic sequence of the virus from the Washington patient and found no changes that would make the virus spread more easily or cause more severe illness.
That finding matters because it separates a severe individual outcome from evidence of viral adaptation. The policy implication is that the response remains centered on exposure control, case finding, and monitoring of close contacts rather than a shift to measures aimed at sustained human transmission.
Officials continue to urge people who have contact with sick or dead birds to take precautions, including wearing respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry. People who work on farms are considered to be at higher risk.
This is the third U.S. bird flu-related death reported since 2024. The first, announced in January 2025, involved an elderly person in Louisiana with H5N1. Another death in Washington state in November 2025 was tied to the rarer H5N5 strain.
