A Washington resident being treated for H5N5 bird flu has died, the state health department said, marking the first confirmed human case of the variant anywhere in the world.
The individual was an elderly man with underlying health conditions and had been receiving hospital care in King County since early November, the department said in a statement Friday, noting that the person in question "had a flock of mixed domestic birds in his backyard."
"Testing at UW Medicine's Clinical Virology Laboratory identified the virus as H5N5, making this the first recorded infection with this variant in a person globally.
"The result was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)," she said.
Public health authorities say the overall risk remains low and no other individuals linked to the case have tested positive for bird flu. Officials continue to monitor those in close contact with the patient for symptoms to rule out person-to-person spread.
"There is no evidence of transmission of this virus between people," the department added./Trt World/
