In 2024, at least 66 human cases of bird flu have been reported in the United States, each one raising the risk of another pandemic like COVID-19. So far, most cases have been described as “mild,” which means they weren't hospitalized.

A genetic analysis of viral samples from a patient in Louisiana hospitalized with the first severe case of bird flu showed mutations that may result in the virus becoming more transmissible

Federal health officials have confirmed unsettling new details about the first United States case of severe bird flu,