A person in the US is believed to be the first human to die from a rare strain of bird flu , but state health officials said on Friday the risk to the public is low.

The person in Washington state, an older adult with underlying health conditions, was being treated for a bird flu strain called H5N5 after becoming seemingly the first known human infected by the strain, according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Health.

The patient had been in hospital with the disease since early November after developing a high fever, confusion and respiratory problems, health officials said earlier.

The person – from Grays Harbor county, about 78 miles (125km) south-west of Seattle – had a backyard flock of domestic poultry that had been exposed to wild birds, health officia

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