Washington Resident Dies From Avian Influenza Complications

 

The individual is an older adult with underlying health conditions, and had been hospitalized in King County since the beginning of November. Testing at the University of Washington Medicine Clinical Virology Lab showed the patient was positive with the H5N5 virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed.

“People 65 years and older are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications compared with young, healthy adults,” according to the CDC website. “This increased risk is due in part to changes in immune defenses with increasing age.”The Washington State Department of Health offered condolences to the individual’s family and friends. The department said officials have not released the person’s name, gender, or age out of respect for the family’s privacy.

The risk to the public remains minimal, as there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, according to the department. No other individuals have tested positive for avian influenza. Public health officials, however, are monitoring close contacts for symptoms.

The person owned a backyard flock of various domestic birds. State testing discovered the virus in the birds’ environment. Contact with the poultry, their surroundings, or wild birds is seen as the most likely source of infection. Individuals who had contact with the flock are also being monitored for symptoms.Bird flu has been infecting wild birds around the world for decades, but the latest US outbreak started in January 2022 and has featured more spread among mammals than in past years.

Seventy other human cases of bird flu have been reported in the US as part of the outbreak, according to the CDC. Another elderly person with underlying conditions died in January after a bird flu infection.

Although a handful of cases have been severe, most people who have been infected have had mild illness, the CDC said, with symptoms like red eyes and fever. The majority of those who have caught bird flu work closely with animals. There have been 41 cases in people who work with cattle and 24 cases among poultry workers. Two other cases have had some other animal exposure that the CDC does not list, and in three cases, the exposure was unknown.The CDC recommends that anyone who works closely with animals wear appropriate protective equipment and use caution around animal feces. Officials also advise using caution when cleaning bird feeders or other areas exposed to bird feces. Avoid contact with sick or dead wildlife.

The Washington health department also recommends flu shots for anyone who may come into contact with domestic or wild birds. Although the regular influenza vaccine can’t protect against bird flu, it reduces the slight chance that someone could get sick with both viruses at once and cause the bird flu virus to mutate into something that would spread easily among humans.