Avian Flu Is Already Devastating Bird Populations. Humans May Be Next.

Still suffering from pandemic fatigue? Then you might not yet know about a virus that’s been sweeping the nation. It led to over 50 million deaths in 2022 alone, but don’t panic just yet. These deaths have only affected birds in the U.S. so far. Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (HPAI), a particularly gnarly form of H5N1 influenza, is highly contagious among birds and can have a nearly 100 percent death rate for the winged animals, according to the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center.

Avian flu doesn’t jump over to humans very often. The U.S. reported its first human case of HPAI last April, in a person who was involved in culling birds at a farm where H5N1 had been confirmed to infect the poultry. The patient was isolated and recovered after treatment with antivirals, according to the World Health Organization.

But given the right conditions, a few spillover cases can quickly turn into a public health problem of epidemic proportions. Ebola is one example: Since its first description in 1976, the virus has spilled over intermittently to humans in regions where it is endemic. But the worst outbreak of the virus occurred in 2014, where it spread to more than 28,000 people in West Africa, killing more than 11,000.

Read more at The Daily Beast.