A Washington state resident has died after being hospitalized with “severe illness” after contracting bird flu, local health officials said on Sunday.
The individual was exposed to avian influenza, also known as bird flu, at a dairy with infected cattle in Yakima county, according to a news release. The person was subsequently hospitalized with severe illness and died on Sunday. Health officials said that the individual, whose identity had not been released, had underlying health conditions.
“The Yakima health district offers its heartfelt condolences to the individual’s family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time,” the district said in a statement.
This is the first person in the United States to die from complications from bird flu this year, according to the Associated Press. It comes as officials in Yakima county have reported that since early October, 33 dairy herds have tested positive for “highly pathogenic avian influenza”.
The Yakima health district has said that it, in coordination with the Washington state department of health, is monitoring human cases of bird flu in Yakima county. So far, the district has recorded three confirmed human cases in the county.
In Sunday’s statement, the health district announced the county’s third confirmed human case of bird flu. The individual was “exposed to infected dairy cattle at a Yakima county dairy”, but has not experienced severe illness or required hospitalization.
Officials said they are working with public health partners to identify and contact any individuals “who may have been in close contact with the person to monitor for symptoms”.
County officials have stressed that “the risk of avian influenza infection to the general public remains low” and that “people at greater risk include dairy workers and others who have close or prolonged contact with infected animals or environments contaminated with the virus”.
Human-to-human transmission of bird flu is “extremely rare and has never been documented in the United States”, they said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recorded 72 human cases of bird flu across the country since 2024, according to agency data. The CDC has maintained that there is no known person-to-person spread and that the risk to the general public remains low.
The CDC announced the first death in the US due to complications from bird flu in January 2025.
