H5N1 Bird Flu Threat: Experts Sound Alarm Over Potential Pandemic As Infections Spread To All 50 US States

At least 70 cases of bird flu in humans have been recorded since 2024, the virologists said. (Credit: AFP)

KEY POINTS

• There is a possibility for virus adaptation and widespread infections among humans, they warned
• The latest data also revealed that there are "ongoing mutations" across the circulating avian influenza viruses
• The warning comes as the HHS pursues an overhaul of the US public health system

Virology experts from across 40 countries have sounded the alarm over the rising threat of H5N1 avian flu, a subtype of the influenza A virus that causes respiratory disease in birds (avian influenza or bird flu), and has now affected humans too.