Man dies of bird flu complications in strain ‘never before seen’ in a human

A man has died after contracting a strain of bird flu never before detected in humans.

The man, from Washington, was older and had ‘underlying health issues’ before he contracted the H5N5 flu variant.

It’s the first reported bird flu case in the United States in nine months, and only the second reported death this year.

The Washington State Department of Health said in a statement: ‘The person had a backyard flock of mixed domestic birds.’

After testing the birds, the DOH found avian influenza, meaning the patient likely contracted it at home from his own flock.

So far, no one else close to the man has tested positive for the virus, and the Centres for Disease Control stressed that the risk remains low. What are the symptoms of bird flu in humans, and how do they differ from other flu