WASHINGTON (dpa): One person in the United States (US) has been infected with the H5N5 subtype of bird flu, confirmed health authorities in Washington State on Saturday.
The virus was detected in tests carried out on the man from the Grays Harbour region after he was admitted to hospital with flu symptoms at the beginning of the month, according to the state's Department of Health.
This is the first time this strain has been detected in humans, it said.
Previously, it had only been detected in animals. No further details were given.
However, the authorities and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to classify the risk to the public as "low."
The elderly man has pre-existing conditions and is continuing to receive treatment in the hospital, according to the department. He keeps domestic poultry that has had contact with wild birds.
According to US media reports, this is the first case of bird flu in humans in nine months.
The CDC documents cases in the US where people have been infected with bird flu. According to the website, there are currently 71 cases, although it is not clear which subtypes are involved.
Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is an infectious disease that is often fatal in many species of birds and poultry.
Since 2022, the largest wave of bird flu ever documented has been raging across several continents.
However, this involves the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus. It mainly affects birds, but has also been found in several mammals.
This H5N1 subtype is also transmissible to humans at high infection doses, though this is rare.
Germany's Robert Koch Institute for disease control had stated that no cases of H5N1 in humans have been detected in that country. - dpa
