{"id":296728,"date":"2025-11-21T03:10:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T03:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/296728\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T03:10:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T03:10:12","slug":"first-human-case-of-rare-bird-flu-reported-in-washington-state-are-you-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/296728\/","title":{"rendered":"First human case of rare bird flu reported in Washington state. Are you at risk?"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a Western Washington resident became the first human to contract a rare form of avian flu<\/a>, you may be wondering if you\u2019re at risk of getting sick.<\/p>\n

An older adult from Grays Harbor, about a 75-mile drive southeast from Tacoma, was diagnosed with the H5N5 strain of bird flu<\/a>, the Washington State Department of Health said in a Friday, Nov. 14, news release.<\/p>\n

The person, who was not named, was hospitalized in early November<\/a> after developing \u201ca high fever, confusion and respiratory distress,\u201d the state Health Department said in a Nov. 13 news release.<\/p>\n

As of Wednesday, Nov. 19, the Grays Harbor resident was \u201cvery ill,\u201d a spokesperson for the state health department told The News Tribune via email.<\/p>\n

This is the first-ever confirmed case of H5N5 involving a human, state health officials said.<\/p>\n

What risks does H5N5 pose to the public? Are there ways to protect yourself?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know:<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A backyard chicken digs into a strawberry. <\/p>\n

What is H5N5 strain of bird flu?<\/p>\n

H5N5 is a strain of avian influenza<\/a>, a \u201cdisease caused by influenza type A viruses,\u201d Washington state health officials said in a Nov. 14 news release.<\/p>\n

The viruses \u201cnaturally occur in wild aquatic birds around the world\u201d and \u201ccan infect other bird species, and, occasionally mammals,\u201d state health officials said, noting the viruses can make people sick \u201con rare occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most human cases happen through exposure to an ill animal.<\/p>\n

Is H5N5 the same as H5N1?<\/p>\n

H5N5 is not the same as H5N1, a more common strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The H5N1 strain \u201chas caused outbreaks<\/a> in poultry and dairy cows in the United States with several human cases identified,\u201d according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

In January, health officials in Louisiana announced the death<\/a> of a patient hospitalized with H5N1.<\/p>\n

The person, who \u201cwas over the age of 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions,\u201d became sick after being exposed to a backyard flock and wild birds, Louisiana health officials said at the time.<\/p>\n

About 70 human cases of H5 bird flu<\/a> have been confirmed in the United States since 2024, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

Most \u201chave resulted in clinically mild illness,\u201d the federal health agency said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A stethoscope is shown.<\/p>\n

What are common symptoms of bird flu?<\/p>\n

Here are some common mild symptoms of bird flu<\/a>, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

More severe symptoms can include a high fever, trouble breathing, \u201caltered consciousness\u201d and seizures, the CDC said.<\/p>\n

Am I at risk of contracting H5N5?<\/p>\n

Health officials said the general public\u2019s risk of getting infected with bird flu, including H5N5, is low.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransmission of avian influenza between humans is extremely rare and has never been documented in the United States,\u201d state health officials said in the Nov. 14 release<\/p>\n

The Grays Harbor patient with H5N5 likely became infected because of exposure to domestic or wild birds, according to Roberto Bonaccorso, a spokesperson for the Washington state health department.<\/p>\n

State health officials say they\u2019re monitoring people who had close contact with the Grays Harbor patient, who had underlying health conditions.<\/p>\n

As of Wednesday, no other Washington residents had become sick with H5N5, Bonaccorso told The News Tribune via email.<\/p>\n

An infectious disease expert<\/a> told Newsweek that H5N5 infection \u201clikely is a rare one-off event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. William Schaffner<\/a>, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine professor, told Newsweek that it likely doesn\u2019t \u201chave widespread implications for the general public.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can I protect myself from bird flu?<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who work with or have recreational contact with infected birds, cattle, or other potentially infected domestic or wild animals, are at higher risk and should take precautions,\u201d state health officials said.<\/p>\n

That includes wearing gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment, according to state health officials.<\/p>\n

Here are other safety tips from state health officials:<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t touch or let your pets near dead wildlife, including birds<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t eat raw or undercooked products, including raw milk, and don\u2019t let your pets have them.<\/p>\n

Who should get a flu vaccine?<\/p>\n

Health officials also recommend everyone 6 months and older get a seasonal flu vaccine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the vaccine doesn\u2019t prevent bird flu, it lessens \u201cthe risk of becoming sick with both human and avian influenza viruses at the same time,\u201d according to state health officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough unlikely, infection with both viruses could result in the emergence of an avian influenza virus that is more easily transmitted from person to person,\u201d state health officials said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a Western Washington resident became the first human to contract a rare form of avian flu, you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[7394,49,48,48192,133551,84,47058,133552,133550,18923],"class_list":{"0":"post-296728","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-avian-flu","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-flu-vaccine","12":"tag-grays-harbor","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-health-officials","15":"tag-human-cases","16":"tag-state-health-department","17":"tag-washington-state"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}