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”.

Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Bluesky. You can reach Helen on ...

Former WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan has warned a future pandemic could be 'much worse than coronavirus'.

Virologists across the globe are raising alarms over the spread of the H5N1 avian flu virus, which is now infecting not just birds, but cattle and humans. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control ...

Virologists and public health specialists have warned about the pandemic threat for years. H5N1, a problem in chickens for decades, first infected humans in 1997, in an outbreak in Hong Kong. Eighteen ...

The H5N1 bird flu, spreading across all 50 U.S. states, raises concerns about a potential pandemic. The virus has impacted dairy farms, poultry flocks, and humans, with one confirmed human death in ...

The H5N1 strain has a history of causing severe illness in humans, with a global death rate of about 48 percent between 2003 and 2025, based on nearly 1,000 cases reported to the World Health ...

The H5N1 bird flu, spreading across all 50 U.S. states, raises concerns about a potential pandemic. The virus has impacted dairy farms, poultry flocks, and humans, with one confirmed human death in ...

Health experts warn of another potential pandemic due to the H5N1 avian flu. The virus, impacting birds and mammals, has spread across the U.S. and resulted in significant poultry losses. The avian ...

Experts warn about the possibility of a new pandemic in 2025 as the H5N1 bird flu virus spreads across all 50 states, impacting US dairy farms and leading to human infections. Here's what to know.

The bird flu continues to wreak havoc around the world, and now experts are warning of more infections spreading between states and species. The disease has led to the deaths of over 400,000 chickens ...