The first human ever known to be infected with the H5N5 strain of avian flu has died. CIDRAP has the news.
HPN reported on the patient contracting the virus when that news was released.
Little is known about the patient, who was from Washington state. We do know that he or she was an “older adult with underlying health conditions” who had a “mixed backyard flock of domestic poultry at home that had exposure to wild birds. Washington state has had dozens of detections of avian flu in wild birds, waterfowl, and backyard poultry in the past weeks, part of a seasonal spike in activity.”
Officials maintain that the risk to the public “remains low” and that “no other people involved have tested positive for avian influenza.” They also reminded the public to get seasonal flu vaccines; if someone is infected with both avian flu and human influenza, there is a higher chance the viruses could mutate, resulting in the “emergence of an avian influenza virus that is more easily transmitted from person to person.”
Meanwhile, commercial poultry across the country continues to be hit with avian flu outbreaks. Currently, Indiana is the epicenter of that activity.
