After a Western Washington resident became the first human to contract a rare form of avian flu, you may be wondering if you’re at risk of getting sick.

An older adult from Grays Harbor, about a 75-mile drive southeast from Tacoma, was diagnosed with the H5N5 strain of bird flu, the Washington State Department of Health said in a Friday, Nov. 14, news release.

The person, who was not named, was hospitalized in early November after developing “a high fever, confusion and respiratory distress,” the state Health Department said in a Nov. 13 news release.

As of Wednesday, Nov. 19, the Grays Harbor resident was “very ill,” a spokesperson for the state health department told The News Tribune via email.

This is the first-ever confirmed case of H5N5 involving a human, state health officials sa

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