A person in Washington state is believed to be the first known human to die from the rare H5N5 strain of bird flu, though health officials say the risk to the public remains low.
The patient, an older adult with underlying health conditions from Grays Harbor County, had been hospitalized since early November after developing high fever, confusion and breathing problems. They were treated after becoming the first known human case of H5N5.
Health officials said the person kept a backyard flock of poultry that had been exposed to wild birds. No other close contacts have tested positive, and there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously stated that this case does not increase the overall public health risk. Experts say H5N5 is not considered more dangerous than H5N1, the strain responsible for dozens of mild human cases in the US over the past two years, mainly among farm workers.
The main scientific difference between the two strains lies in a viral protein that affects how the virus spreads between cells.
