Yakima dairy worker becomes first US bird flu death this year
The individual died Sunday after contracting the virus from infected cattle, marking a milestone in the ongoing outbreak.
By Hugo Cook ·
A resident of Yakima County in Washington state died on Sunday after contracting avian influenza at a local dairy farm. Local health officials confirmed that the individual was hospitalized with severe illness following exposure to infected cattle. The person had underlying health conditions, though their identity has not been publicly released.
This death represents the first human fatality in the United States attributed to bird flu complications in the current calendar year. The case occurred in a region where the virus has spread rapidly among livestock. Since early October, officials in Yakima County have identified 33 dairy herds that tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The Yakima Health District stated that it is coordinating with the Washington State Department of Health to monitor human cases within the county. The district reported three confirmed human infections in the area to date. The third case involves an individual exposed to infected dairy cattle but who has not experienced severe symptoms or required hospitalization.
Public health officials are currently identifying and contacting close contacts of the deceased to monitor them for symptoms. The Yakima Health District described the risk to the general public as low, noting that higher risk is concentrated among dairy workers and those with prolonged contact with infected animals or contaminated environments.
Officials emphasized that human-to-human transmission remains extremely rare and has never been documented in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded 72 human cases of bird flu across the country since 2024. The agency maintains that there is no known person-to-person spread and that the risk to the general public remains low.
The previous US death from bird flu complications was announced by the CDC in January 2025. Health officials in Yakima County continue to track the spread of the virus among both cattle and human populations in the region.
Source: The Guardian
