Washington resident dies in first U.S. bird flu fatality of 2026
Nov. 1 (UPI) — A south-central Washington state resident hospitalized after contracting avian influence has died, according to local health officials, apparently marking the first U.S. bird flue death of the year and the third on record.
The patient died Sunday and had underlying health conditions, Yakima County health officials said in a statement, adding that the name, gender and age of the individual would not be released out of respect for the privacy of the individual’s family.
“My deepest sympathy to this individual’s family,” Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement.
“I’m being briefed on this situation, and my team is in close coordination with public health and agriculture officials.”
The individual died a day after health officials made public the patient’s hospitalization with severe illness. The officials said the patient had contracted bird flu following exposure at a dairy with infected cattle.
In announcing the death on Sunday, Yakima Health District also reported a third confirmed human case of bird flu in a Yakima resident with had been exposed to infected dairy cattle in the county. The patient, hose identity has not been disclosed, had not experienced severe illness or been hospitalized, according to officials.
The county’s first human case of bird flu linked to infected dairy cattle was confirmed Oct. 15, less than a week after Yakima County officials and federal veterinary personnel confirmed H5N1 at two dairy farms in the county, marking the first known detections of the virus in dairy cattle in Washington state.
“Workers at affected farms are advised to take safety precautions, but the risk to the public remains low,” the Democratic governor said.
Since the Oct. 8 confirmation of two infected herds in Yakima County, infections have been confirmed in 34 diary herds in Washington State, 33 in Yakima County and one in Benton County, according to state information.
The H5N1 strain of influence has been circulating among U.S. dairy cattle since the spring of 2024. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported 72 human H5 bird flu infections from various exposure sources since February 2024 as of Oct 15, adding that there had been no known person-to-person transmission in the United States.
The previous U.S. death linked to H5 bird flu occurred in Washington state on Nov. 21, 2025.
The first recorded U.S. death from H5 bird flur occurred in early January 2025 in Louisiana. The individual had been hospitalized with severe illness. Health officials said the individual had contracted the disease after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.
