Follow-up: Yakima County Resident Dies After Bird Flu Exposure From Infected Dairy Cows: First U.S. Death of 2026
A Yakima County, Washington, resident who caught bird flu after being exposed to infected dairy cows has died following a severe illness, becoming the first person in the United States known to die from avian influenza in 2026. According to CNN's November 2 report, the Yakima County Health District reported on October 31 that a person who had contact with infected cattle was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu; the person had underlying health conditions. On November 1, the county reported that the person had died. Health officials are closely monitoring the person's contacts.
This is the third U.S. bird flu death since February 2024, when the virus first jumped into dairy cattle; the earlier deaths were in Louisiana and Washington. Three cases have been identified in the Yakima County Health District this year, all since mid-October and all from exposure to infected cows: a dairy worker who tested positive with a mild case on October 15, the first human case in nearly a year, and a third case reported over the weekend with mild symptoms and no hospitalization. Since October 8, 33 dairy herds infected with the H5N1 virus have been reported in Washington.
State health officials said they have reported all three cases to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No human-to-human transmission has been documented in the United States, and officials say the risk to the public remains low. The state is urging dairy workers to wear personal protective equipment and report symptoms.
Related: Two Washington Dairy Herds Confirmed With Bird Flu, the State's First Livestock Cases
(Source: CNN)
Source: CNN
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：奶牛场牛舍中的奶牛群（资料图）。Geoff Charles 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A dairy cattle herd in a cow shed (file photo). By Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-08Bird Flu Confirmed in Two Yakima County Dairy Herds, a First for Washington Livestock
- 2026-11-02Follow-up: Yakima County Resident Dies After Bird Flu Exposure From Infected Dairy Cows: First U.S. Death of 2026This story
