The primary individual contaminated with the H5N5 hen flu has died, based on well being officers in Washington.
The individual, who lived in Grays Harbor County, had been hospitalized earlier this month in Kings County, the place Seattle is situated.
Officers from the Washington State Division of Well being didn’t launch the individual’s title, age or gender. In keeping with a information launch from Grays Harbor County well being officers final week, the individual was thought of “older” and had underlying well being circumstances. Their signs included a excessive fever, confusion and bother respiration.
The individual had a yard flock consisting of blended home poultry.
Testing by the well being division discovered virus within the “setting of the flock … making publicity to the home poultry, their setting, or wild birds the most probably supply of publicity for this affected person.”
Officers on the state’s well being division mentioned they had been monitoring different individuals who had been uncovered to the flock and setting.
This explicit pressure of hen flu, H5N5, had by no means been seen in an individual earlier than. It appeared first in 2023, infecting birds and mammals in japanese Canada.
In keeping with analysis revealed final yr on the novel pressure, some contaminated animals carried a key mutation within the virus that permits it to switch extra simply between mammals.
Epidemiologists and virologists fear that avian influenza might generate a pandemic if allowed to unfold and mutate. As an example, the H5N1 virus circulating in dairy cattle in North America is one mutation away from with the ability to unfold simply between individuals.
Each time a hen flu virus infects an individual, considerations develop that it might change, turning into extra transmissible or extra lethal. As an example, if a sickened individual additionally has one other flu virus replicating of their physique, there’s concern the viruses might trade genetic materials. Simply by having a possibility to copy and evolve tens of millions of instances within the human physique, it might purchase lethal mutations.
Well being officers say the chance to the general public stays low and that no different individuals concerned have examined constructive for avian influenza. They are saying there is no such thing as a proof of transmission of the virus between individuals, however they’re monitoring anybody who was in shut contact with the affected person.
