Jacqueline White
Updated Tue, October 20, 2026 at 6:24 AM PDT
1 min read
US records first human case of H5N1 this year
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The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) also known as bird flu in multiple Indiana counties.
According to DNR, bird flu was confirmed as the cause of death for multiple geese in Hamilton County. Multiple blue-winged teal in Greene County were also confirmed to have the virus through surveillance by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and the DNR.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the public health risk remains low, but people should avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds. If a carcass must be handled, use gloves and a mask, double-bag it, and wash your hands thoroughly afterward.
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If you spot sick or dead waterfowl or raptors, report it at on.IN.gov/sickwildlife.
Waterfowl hunters should wear protective gear when processing birds and cook all harvested meat to 165°F.
Contact the Indiana Department of Health if you develop symptoms after handling sick or dead wildlife – 317-233-7125 during business hours or 317-233-1325 after hours.
For more information, visit on.IN.gov/avian-flu.View comments
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US records first human case of H5N1 this year
Maeve Cullinan
Tue, October 20, 2026 at 7:27 AM PDT
3 min read
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A man in Washington has tested positive for H5N1, marking the first human case of bird flu in the US this year.
The patient, who works on a dairy farm, was reportedly infected after being exposed to two infected cows.
H5N1 has become endemic on US dairy farms after ‘spilling over’ from birds in 2024, and has since infected more than 1,000 herds across dozens of states.
The person is not seriously ill and is isolating at home, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
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Scientists have long warned that if H5N1 mutates and gains the ability to spread person-to-person, it could trigger the next global pandemic – and each new infection gives the virus more opportunities to replicate and change.
Last week, a 50-year-old man in Taiwan was infected with a different strain of bird flu, H7N7, genetic analysis of which showed the virus had undergone adaptations to spread more effectively between mammals.
Of the more than 1,000 people who have contracted H5N1 since it was first detected in the late 1990s, almost half have died.
Its “extraordinarily high” mortality rate means that, were it to gain the ability to spread between people, it would be of “enormous concern”, the World Health Organization (WHO) previously warned.
However, the strain circulating among US dairy cattle, clade 2.3.4.4b, has proven less lethal to humans.
Since the virus first spilled over into American dairy cattle, there have been at least 72 human cases of H5N1 in the US, almost all of whom had close contact with sick animals. Two of those infected died.
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Symptoms typically include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, and, in the case of clade 2.3.4.4b, conjunctivitis.
In milder cases, the virus is often indistinguishable from illnesses like Covid-19 and the common cold, meaning current case numbers are thought to be a significant underestimate.
In the US, just over half of dairy workers are migrants – many undocumented – who avoid voluntary testing programmes over fears of coming into contact with law enforcement.
“If people don’t feel safe coming forward for testing or care, we risk missing early signs of spread, especially in high-risk populations like dairy farm workers,” Dr Krutika Kuppalli, associate professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Texas Southwestern, previously told The Telegraph.
Washington health officials said the risk to the public remained “low” and “fits the pattern seen across the US dairy outbreak: infection through direct occupational contact with infected animals.”
The spread of H5N1 bird flu has been felt most on commercial poultry farms.
In recent years, the virus has decimated farmed poultry, with estimates that more than 500 million farmed birds, mostly chickens, have been culled since 2021 alone as a result of the virus.
It has also ‘jumped’ to nearly 100 different animal species – including bears, lions, foxes, mink, dolphins, porpoises, dogs, and cats.
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