A Washington state resident has become the first known person to die after being infected with the rare H5N5 strain of bird flu, health officials confirmed, though they stressed that the overall risk to the public remains low.
The individual, an older adult with underlying medical conditions, had been hospitalised since early November with symptoms including high fever, confusion and respiratory problems. According to the Washington State Department of Health, the person lived in Grays Harbor County and kept a backyard flock of domestic poultry that had been exposed to wild birds.
Health authorities said no other people connected to the case have tested positive, and there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Close contacts of the patient are being monitored as a precaution.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously noted that the case does not indicate any increased threat to public health. H5N5 is not thought to pose a greater danger than the more widespread H5N1 strain, which has caused around 70 mild human infections in US farm workers over the past two years.
The key difference between the two strains lies in a viral protein involved in releasing the virus from infected cells and enabling its spread.
