Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a broad term that refers to several types of influenza that normally infect birds. The bird flu that’s been making news in the United States is a virus called H5N1.

H5N1 is a specific strain of influenza A virus, also known as bird flu. The avian flu is a highly contagious respiratory disease that primarily affects birds, but can also infect other animals ...

H5N1 is one of the more common bird flu strains to make the jump from birds to humans. The infected birds spread the virus through their saliva, mucus and feces.

June 11 The World Health Organization announced a four-year-old child in India was infected with H9N2 bird flu—a different flu strain from H5N1—but recovered after suffering from seizures ...

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".

Evidence of bird flu infections in horses signals a new frontier in viral spillover risks, demanding urgent action to monitor and mitigate cross-species transmission. Research Letter: Evidence of ...

The first severe case of H5N1 bird flu was confirmed in Louisiana. Here is a map of other states that have been affected. Hotspots ranked Start the day smarter ☀️ Funniest cap messages Get the ...

It is not possible to predict how deadly a pandemic strain of H5N1 could be.Since the virus first emerged, around 900 human infections have been confirmed. Half were fatal, but asymptomatic ...

Rising H5N1 bird flu cases in the U.S. prompted the CDC to study the virus in ferrets, revealing it may have the potential to spread and cause severe symptoms in other mammals.