Washington State resident dies from complications of avian influenza

Testing at the UW Medicine Clinical Virology Lab identified the virus as H5N5, making this the first recorded infection with this variant in a person globally. The result was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The risk to the public remains low. No other people involved have tested positive for avian influenza. Public health officials will continue to monitor anyone who was in close contact with the patient for symptoms to ensure that human-to-human spread has not occurred. There is no evidence of transmission of this virus between people.