Health officials continue to monitor the spread of bird flu in Washington state, where notable cases emerged over 2024.

The first human infections in the state were recorded this year, with more than a dozen people testing positive, mostly after close contact with infected poultry. The virus (H5N1) has also been found in commercially raised chickens, seals, and dairy cows, since first emerging at the beginning of the decade.

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Late last week, Woodland Park Zoo announced that a red-breasted goose died in a suspected case of bird flu. The zoo quickly isolated birds and restricted access to them. The Centers for Disease Control considers the current public health risk of bird flu to be low, but Peter Rabinowitz, the director of the University of Washington's Center for One Health Research, says that can change.

"It's certainly not going away and as long as it continues to circulate in farms and wild birds, it's going to continue to pose a risk to people who have direct contact with infected animals," Rabinowitz told KUOW's Soundside.