A Yakima County, Washington resident has died after contracting bird flu from exposure to infected dairy cows, state health officials announced Sunday — the first human death from the virus in the United States this year. The person was hospitalized with a severe case on October 31 and had existing health problems, according to CNN's reporting on the county health department's statement.

The death is the third confirmed human bird flu case in Yakima County and the first in the state to prove fatal. Healio reports the first case in the county, identified October 15, caused only mild symptoms and did not require hospitalization; a third case, also tied to exposure at a local dairy operation, has since been confirmed separately.

A widening dairy outbreak

State officials say the virus has now been confirmed across 34 dairy herds in Washington — 33 of them in Yakima County and one in neighboring Benton County, according to KSL's coverage of the state health department's briefing. Officials emphasized that the broader public risk remains low and that no human-to-human transmission of the virus has been documented anywhere in the United States.

THE RISK TO THE PUBLIC REMAINS LOW, OFFICIALS SAY.

This is the third human death linked to bird flu in the U.S. since February 2024, when the virus first jumped from wild birds into dairy cattle herds and began spreading through the industry. NewsNation's report notes the case is distinct from a separate, earlier Washington death in November 2025 involving a different viral subtype, H5N5, in a Grays Harbor County resident — underscoring that more than one strain of the virus is now circulating in the state's animal populations.

What's next: Washington's health department says it is continuing to monitor the 34 affected dairy herds and test farmworkers with potential exposure. Officials have not announced new statewide restrictions, and surveillance for additional human cases tied to the ongoing dairy outbreak continues.