WA resident dies from bird flu: Health officials issue warning

A Yakima resident is dead this morning after they were infected with the bird flu and this marks the first death caused by that disease this year. Taylor Winkle joins us now and this person was exposed at a dairy farm with infected cattle. Taylor? Yeah, that's right, John. So you might be wondering how someone would even get bird flu from a cow. Well, When cattle come into contact with infected wild birds or those wild birds contaminate the cattle's environment, they can get the bird flu. And as wild birds migrate over Washington, they can spread bird flu throughout our area. As far as this death, as you said, it happened in Yakima County. The Yakima County Health District says this person had underlying health conditions. They didn't release any information on this person's age or gender due to privacy reasons. The health district says there's another case. case of the avian flu in Yakima County as well, saying, though, that that person was also exposed to infected cattle, but did not. have a severe illness or need to be hospitalized. The CDC says person-to-person spread is extremely rare and has actually never been documented in the U.S. and the overall risk to the general public is low. Closer to home, a case of the bird flu has been confirmed at a poultry facility in Pierce County. The State Department of Agriculture did not name that facility but says this is the first First case found in commercial poultry so far this. this year. Reporting in the newsroom, I'm Taylor Winkle, Fox 13 News.