Washington state resident dies of bird flu after exposure to infected dairy cattle in the first US death this year

Washington state has recorded its first bird flu fatality of the year: a Yakima County patient with underlying health conditions who contracted H5N1 through exposure at a dairy farm and died on Sunday, November 1, marking the third such death in the US since 2024. Governor Bob Ferguson said his team is working alongside public health and agriculture officials. Out of respect for the family, officials have declined to release the patient's name, age or gender.

Since early October, H5N1 has been confirmed across 34 dairy herds in Yakima County, Washington state.

A third human bird flu case has been confirmed in Yakima County, though that patient has not been hospitalised.

Officials stress human-to-human transmission remains 'extremely rare and has never been documented in the United States.'