Dairy workers in Texas show signs of prior, uncounted bird flu infections in a new study. Without better surveillance, researchers warn that health officials could be caught off guard if the virus gets more contagious.
A recent crop of human cases at a chicken farm highlight the risks of the ongoing outbreak. Here's what scientists fear could happen next in the evolution of the virus.
Three months into the U.S. bird flu outbreak, only 45 people have been tested and clinical labs aren't approved to detect the virus. They complain of slowness and uncertainty from the CDC and FDA.
An avian flu outbreak in dairy herds has stoked tensions between the federal government and raw milk advocates. Milk testing could provide assurances and useful data, but some farmers oppose it.
Federal health officials say the U.S. has the building blocks to make a vaccine to protect humans from bird flu, if needed. But experts warn we're nowhere near prepared for another pandemic.
Health officials say there's very little risk to humans from the bird flu outbreak among dairy cattle, but there's still much they don't know. Here are four questions scientists are trying to answer.
The agency stressed the material is inactivated and that the findings "do not represent actual virus that may be a risk to consumers," but it's continuing to study the issue.
Avian influenza is being detected in more dairy herds. Scientists are paying close attention to how the virus is changing and what that means for its pandemic potential.
Cattle are getting sick with H5N1, and one person got sick in Texas. How bad could this be for dairy farms? Could it spread among people? Here's what scientists are learning.
CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen tells NPR that while the risk of bird flu spreading to humans is low, the U.S. government is taking precautions to avoid spread of the virus.
Cal-Maine Foods lost about 1.9 million chickens, or 3.6% of its flock, as a result of an outbreak at a Texas plant. The CDC says, however, that a person is unlikely to get bird flu from eggs.
The outbreaks hit an industry struggling from an electricity crisis. One expert said three recent bird flu outbreaks have caused losses of at least $25 million to South Africa's poultry industry.
Amid high egg prices, social media users are claiming that common chicken feed products are preventing their own hens from laying eggs. But experts say high egg prices are caused by bird flu and inflation. And while feed quality can affect egg production, there are more mundane explanations for backyard flock owners' reported low egg yields.
