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".

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.

There’s “always a potential for this virus to become a pandemic, but there’s also the potential for any existing — or not yet existing — virus to become a pandemic,” said Dr. Shira Doron. The post Are we heading for a bird flu pandemic?

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.

Samples taken from the first patient who died from bird flu show that a strain of the virus has “mutated” to infect humans more effectively. A patient - hospitalised last month in Louisiana - died after the H5N1 strain of avian influenza infected the individual.