A fatal outcome has been reported in the United States of America in a patient infected with the H5N5 strain of avian influenza. The Washington State Department of Health reported this event. According to available data, the deceased resident of Grays Harbor County was an elderly person suffering from chronic illnesses. Since the beginning of November, he had been hospitalized in a King County hospital. The Laboratory of Clinical Virology at the University of Washington Medical Center identified the virus as H5N5. Despite the tragic outcome, representatives of the department emphasized that the risk of infection for the general population remains minimal. No cases of illness were detected among people who had contact with the patient. It has been established that the deceased patient kept a flock of domestic poultry in his yard. Testing conducted by the Department of Health revealed the presence of the avian influenza virus in the environment of this flock. This fact indicates that contact with domestic poultry was the most likely source of infection for the patient. In the last three years, there has been a trend of rapid spread of avian influenza among various populations of marine animals and birds across North and South America, as well as Antarctica. Over the past two years, ecologists have recorded several major outbreaks of avian influenza among albatrosses and seals off the coasts of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Last year in the U.S., cases of the spread of new H5N1 strains were repeatedly registered on dairy farms and poultry farms.
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