Yakima County resident dies after H5N1 dairy exposure

A Yakima County resident died Sunday after developing severe H5N1 bird flu following exposure at a dairy with infected cattle, health officials said. The death is the first reported U.S. bird-flu fatality of 2026 and the third U.S. death associated with the virus since 2024. The Yakima Health District said the resident had underlying health conditions and had been hospitalized. The district has not released the person’s name, age or gender, citing the family’s privacy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the infection was H5N1, according to a statement attributed to an agency spokesperson. Alongside the death announcement, the district reported a third confirmed human case in Yakima County. The newly identified patient had been exposed at a dairy with infected cattle but had not developed severe illness and did not require hospitalization. The district said it was tracing the patient’s contacts and checking close contacts of the deceased for symptoms. All three human cases reported in Washington have occurred in Yakima County and have been linked to dairy exposure. The death followed two earlier U.S. bird-flu deaths: one in Louisiana in January 2025 and...