Yakima County reports third human death
A Yakima County resident died from bird flu after exposure to an infected dairy farm, Washington state health officials reported Sunday. This death marks the third human bird flu death in the US since a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza made the unprecedented jump from wild birds to dairy cows in March 2024. The deceased had underlying health conditions. County officials reported on Friday that the resident was severely ill and hospitalized. Officials will not release the name, gender, or age of the individual to respect the family’s privacy. "Avian influenza can cause severe illness, particularly among people who have underlying health conditions," Dave Atteberry, health officer for the Yakima Health District, said in a statement. He added that the risk to the general public remains low.
Washington has recorded three people who tested positive for bird flu since the virus appeared in state dairy cattle on October 8. All three cases occurred in Yakima County. The first two individuals had exposure to an infected dairy herd in the county but did not experience severe illness or hospitalization. Since the October 8 report of infected herds, the US Department of Agriculture reports 40 detections of bird flu in Washington dairy cows, 33 of which occurred in Yakima County.
Virus spread in cattle and mammals
The USDA reported 134 cases of bird flu in cattle this year across Texas, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Kansas. While the USDA lists no cases in other domestic livestock like swine, the virus spreads in various wild and captive mammals. A report from ProPublica last month revealed the virus is raging on a mink farm in Utah, a situation that could allow the virus to mutate to better spread among humans.
| Category | Total Count |
|---|---|
| Human cases since 2024 | over 70 |
| Total human deaths | 3 |
| Washington dairy cow detections | 40 |
No human-to-human transmission of HPAI has occurred among the over 70 human cases detected since 2024. Of these cases, only three have resulted in death. The first death involved a 65-year-old Louisiana resident with underlying health conditions who became critically ill in January 2025 after exposure to infected wild and backyard birds. The second death occurred in November 2025 when an older adult with underlying health conditions in Washington also had exposure to infected backyard birds.
