On Friday, November 21, United States health officials confirmed the passing of an “older adult” who was undergoing treatment for a bird flu strain called H5N5, in the first-ever known human case of the variant across the globe.
In a statement, the Washington State Department of Health identified the deceased as a Grays Harbour County resident, without disclosing their name, age and gender “out of respect for the family’s privacy.”
The state Department of Health said the person had been hospitalised since early November, after developing symptoms such as high fever, confusion and respiratory distress.
Samples from the patient were taken to the Medicine Clinical Virology Lab of the University of Washington, where the H5N5 strain was detected.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later backed the findings, according to the statement.
The case marks “the first recorded infection with this variant in a person globally,” the department confirmed.
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‘Risk to the public remains low’
Despite the landmark discovery, the health department ruled out the possibility of an H5N5 strain outbreak among humans, noting that the aforementioned case was an isolated one.
It explained that the victim had “underlying health conditions” and “had a backyard flock of mixed domestic birds,” making the person more highly vulnerable to the disease.
“DOH [Department of Health] testing identified [bird flu] in the environment of the flock, making exposure to the domestic poultry, their environment, or wild birds the most likely source of exposure for this patient,” reads the statement.
“People who had exposure to the backyard flock and environment are also being monitored for symptoms,” it noted.
But overall, “the risk to the public remains low,” said the department, adding that “no other people involved have tested positive for [the virus].”
“There is no evidence of transmission of this virus between people,” it reiterated, further stressing that “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.”
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Avian influenza
Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, comes in various strains, all of which are transmissible among bird species, and occasionally among mammals.
Caused by influenza type A viruses, it naturally occurs in wild aquatic birds around the world, but can be deadly to domestic birds such as chickens and turkeys.
Humans get infected on rare occasions, mostly with the H5N1 strain.
In the US, 70 people tested positive for bird flu over the past year, half of which involved the said variant.
To date, there is no known person-to-person spread of the bird flu, with all recorded human cases being attributed to exposure to infected birds or animals.
According to the CDC, signs and symptoms of moderate to severe disease from bird flu in people may include high fever, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing, altered consciousness and seizures.
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