Current strains of bird flu are “poorly suited for pandemic potential,” said Dr. Shira Doron, a Tufts Medicine infectious disease expert.

With reports of the first human death from bird flu in the US, some Americans are feeling an uncomfortable flashback to the early days of Covid-19, when infectious disease experts were talking about a new virus that was sending people to the hospital with respiratory infections.

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".

A variant of the virus caused disease in people in 1997, when there was a small but deadly outbreak in Hong Kong. Eighteen people had confirmed diagnoses, and six of them died. Since then, there have been sporadic cases around the world—but no large outbreaks.

The nation's first human death due to the bird flu occurred this month, the latest development in a global outbreak that, while mostly limited to birds and mammals such as minks, polar bears, cows, and domestic cats—has also sickened 67 Americans and has public health officials watching closely for signs that a human pandemic is in the offing.

The first known death from a bird flu virus in the US has sparked fears about another pandemic, yet the overall risk to the general public still remains low

The first person in the U.S. just died from a strain of the virus in Louisiana, but there’s still some simple ways to stay safe.

The bird flu, which seemed to be fading away, has once again set off alarms. With the first death recorded in the United States and the virus detected in every state, the situation is becoming increasingly complex.