The Yakima County patient had underlying health conditions as officials track additional infections linked to dairy cattle.
YAKIMA, Wash. — A Yakima County resident died Nov. 1 from complications of H5N1 bird flu after exposure to infected dairy cattle, health officials said, marking the first U.S. bird flu death reported in about a year.
The patient had underlying health conditions and had been hospitalized with severe illness after exposure at a dairy where cattle were infected with avian influenza, according to the Yakima Health District. Officials have not released the person’s name, age or gender, citing the family’s privacy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the infection involved H5N1, the strain responsible for widespread outbreaks among wild birds, poultry and dairy cattle.
The death comes as Washington health officials respond to the state’s first H5N1 detections in dairy cattle, which were reported in Yakima County in October. The Yakima Health District has confirmed three human bird flu infections associated with exposure at dairies in the county. Another recently confirmed patient had not experienced severe illness or required hospitalization, officials said.
Local health officials said they are working with the Washington State Department of Health and other public health partners to identify people who had close contact with infected patients and monitor them for symptoms. As of the latest county update, there was no evidence that the virus was spreading from person to person. Health authorities continued to describe the risk to the general public as low.
Dairy workers and others who have close or prolonged contact with infected cattle or contaminated farm environments face a higher risk of infection, according to state and federal health agencies. H5N1 can spread from infected animals through contact with respiratory secretions, milk and other contaminated material. Human infections remain uncommon and have largely occurred among people exposed to infected poultry or cattle.
Yakima County has seen a rapid increase in infections among dairy herds since the virus was first confirmed in cattle there in early October. County data showed dozens of dairy herds had tested positive by the end of the month. The outbreaks brought increased testing and monitoring of workers who may have been exposed to infected cattle.
The CDC said genetic analysis of the virus from the patient who died did not identify changes known to make H5N1 spread more easily between people or cause more severe disease. Federal health officials have said there is no known person-to-person spread of H5 bird flu in the United States. The agency continues to monitor influenza surveillance systems for evidence of unusual activity.
The Yakima County death is the third U.S. death linked to bird flu since the virus became a heightened national public health concern in 2024. A Louisiana resident infected with H5N1 died in early 2025 after exposure to sick and dead birds. Later that year, a Washington resident died after becoming infected with H5N5, a rarer avian influenza strain associated with a backyard flock and wild birds.
Washington’s H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle represents a newer stage of the virus’s spread in the state. H5N1 had already circulated among wild birds and poultry before it was detected in Washington dairy cattle in October 2026. The virus was first reported in U.S. dairy cattle in 2024 and has since caused outbreaks in multiple states.
State and county health officials said monitoring of dairy herds, exposed workers and close contacts is continuing. No evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission has been reported, and health agencies continue to classify the overall risk to the general public as low while warning that people with direct exposure to infected animals face greater risk.
Author note: Last updated November 6, 2026.