Yakima County Resident Dies of Bird Flu, First US Death From the Virus in 2026

A Yakima County resident who was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu after exposure to infected dairy cattle has died, the Yakima Health District announced on Sunday, November 1. It is the first death from bird flu in the United States in 2026.

The patient had underlying health conditions, the district said. Officials did not release the person's name, gender or age, out of respect for the family's privacy. The district had reported on October 31 that the resident was hospitalized with a severe illness after exposure at a dairy with infected cattle, and it announced the death a day later.

"Our hearts go out to the individual's family and loved ones during this difficult time," said Dr. Dave Atteberry, the health officer for the Yakima Health District. "Avian influenza can cause severe illness, particularly among people who have underlying health conditions. While this is a serious and heartbreaking outcome, the risk to the general public remains low."

Governor Bob Ferguson said he was being briefed on the situation and that his team was coordinating with public health and agriculture officials. "My deepest sympathy to this individual's family," Ferguson said. "Workers at affected farms are advised to take safety precautions, but the risk to the public remains low."

A third human case in the county

In the same release, the district confirmed a third human case of bird flu in Yakima County. That resident was also exposed to infected dairy cattle but has not had severe illness and has not been hospitalized. All three Washington cases have come since mid-October, and all followed exposure to infected cows. The county's first human case was confirmed on October 15.

County officials said they are monitoring the contacts of the person who died to check that the infection did not pass to anyone else. No human to human transmission of bird flu has been documented in the United States, and most of the people infected since 2024 have worked on farms with infected cattle or poultry.

Third US death since the virus reached dairy cattle

CNN reported that this is the third person in the United States to die from bird flu since February 2024, when the virus jumped into dairy cattle for the first time. The other two US deaths came in January 2025 and November 2025, the Washington Examiner reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded bird flu cases in more than 70 people in the United States since 2024.

An outbreak that reached 33 herds in three weeks

Washington confirmed its first bird flu infections in dairy cattle on October 8, at two Yakima County dairies. They were the first detections in dairy cattle in the state. Since then, 33 dairy herds in Yakima County have tested positive, and the virus has also been found in a dairy herd in neighboring Benton County.

Health officials say pasteurized milk and dairy products are safe, and they advise people who work around cattle to take precautions and to avoid raw milk. The Yakima Health District says it will update its avian influenza page every Monday and Thursday at 2 p.m. with the latest case counts.