The first person known to have been infected with the H5N5 strain of avian influenza has died, the Washington State Department of Health announced Friday. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

“Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we are not releasing their name, gender, or age,” reads a statement from the department. What is known is that the individual was an “older adult” with some preexisting health issues. After contracting the virus, which had never previously been recorded in humans, they had been receiving hospital treatment in King County.

The statement stressed that the risk to the general public remains low, and that no other people connected with the case have since contracted avian flu, although monitor

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