In early December 2024, a group of researchers published an article in the journal Science, entitled “A single mutation in bovine influenza H5N1 hemagglutinin switches specificity to human receptors”. Some media outlets somewhat exaggeratedly took this to mean that we are one mutation away from bird flu “becoming the next COVID”.
There are currently no documented cases of human to human transmission of bird flu, also known as avian flu H5N1, though there is concern that the virus, which has spread among farm cows in the US, may mutate and spread to humans, leading to a flu pandemic.
