U.S. Prepares for Bird Flu Amid Low Public Risk

Federal health officials are developing vaccines and monitoring cases after a Texas dairy worker contracts H5N1, but assure the risk to the public remains low.

• Federal officials are preparing vaccine candidates against the H5N1 bird flu strain following a human case in Texas, emphasizing the current low risk to the general public.
• The infected individual, a dairy worker, contracted the virus from cattle, marking a rare instance of animal-to-human transmission of H5N1 in the U.S.
• Surveillance and monitoring efforts are enhanced, with over 8,000 people screened for exposure to H5N1 across the U.S., aiming to detect any potential human-to-human transmission.
• Funding cuts for pandemic preparedness have raised concerns among experts, despite the strategic national stockpile containing vaccines and antivirals ready for use.
• The CDC and health experts maintain that, while the situation is taken seriously, the genetic makeup of the virus does not currently suggest an increased likelihood of widespread human transmission.

55 Articles

Washington Post Voice of America (VOA News) San Antonio Express-News Cleveland Plain Dealer UPI CBS News Washington Post ABC News The Hill Smithsonian Magazine The Seattle Times Associated Press Gizmodo The Hill Boston Globe Scientific American Austin American-Statesman Washington Post IFLScience AZ Central The Telegraph The Daily Caller Vox The Telegraph ScienceAlert NBC News UPI People CBC New Scientist The Jerusalem Post Newsweek The Guardian Forbes South China Morning Post New York Daily News Austin American-Statesman ABC News The Daily Beast Time CNA Newsweek San Antonio Express-News CBS News New York Post CNN Stat News The Texas Tribune Houston Public Media Associated Press ABC News Sun Sentinel Washington Post CBS News Breitbart