First U.S. Bird Flu Death Raises Concerns About Preparedness

On January 6, the U.S. reported its first human death from the bird flu. According to the CDC, more than 60 people were diagnosed with bird flu in the US last year, up from just one case in 2022.

If you look at global cases over the last two decades, of the nearly 900 reported cases in people, roughly half the patients died.

H5N1 avian influenza has been circulating in birds—and even some mammals—for years. But in the spring of 2024, the virus turned up in dairy cattle. Since then, over 900 herds have been affected, according to the CDC.

This might bring back memories from early in the COVID-19 pandemic—but is that the right way to think about this? Should we be concerned? And what steps should we be taking?

To unpack this, host Flora Lichtman talks with Dr. Seema Lakdawala, co-director for the Center for Transmission of Airborne Pathogens and associate professor studying influenza viruses at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia; and Dr. Richard Webby, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds and virologist at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.

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