Archive · 19 Nov 2025
Rare H5N5 Bird Flu Strain Detected in Human for First Time
A rare type of bird flu, H5N5, was found in a person for the first time ever.
The person is from Washington and got sick in November.
They had birds at home that might have been the source.
Doctors are watching this closely because bird flu can sometimes change and spread to people, but right now, it's not spreading from person to person.
First human case of H5N5 bird flu confirmed in the US
Patient is an older adult from Washington with underlying health conditions
Exposure likely from backyard poultry or wild birds
No evidence of human-to-human transmission yet
Health officials consider risk to the public low
- Who
- An older adult from Grays Harbor County, Washington
- What
- Contracted the H5N5 strain of bird flu
- When
- In early November 2022
- Where
- Grays Harbor County, Washington, USA
- Why
- Exposure to infected poultry or wild birds
Caution but Not Panic
Monitoring Closely
Pandemic Potential
Caution but Not Panic
Not yet a pandemic-level human virus, according to public health agencies
Monitoring Closely
Avian influenza viruses are inherently unpredictable and can mutate or reassort over time
- Strain
- H5N5
- Patient's condition
- Severely ill, hospitalized
- Risk to public
- Low, according to CDC and DOH
- Transmission
- No evidence of human-to-human transmission yet
- Source of exposure
- Backyard poultry or wild birds
