Washington resident hospitalized with H5N5 bird flu strain never before seen in humans | 18 Nov 2025 | A Washington state resident has been hospitalized and is ‘severely ill’ with a strain of virus that has never before been confirmed in humans. The patient, an older adult with underlying conditions, was hospitalized with a strain of bird flu in early November after suffering from a high fever, confusion and severe breathing difficulties, officials said. They were first treated by doctors in Grays Harbor County, about 100 miles west of Seattle, before being transferred to an unnamed hospital in King County, where Seattle is based, for specialist care. Lab tests confirmed the patient was infected with H5N5, a strain of bird flu previously detected in animals but never before recorded in humans.