Is Bird Flu a Big Risk to Humans?

The first death caused by bird flu has been reported in the U.S.

Rachel Nania,

Updated January 07, 2025

AARP

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En español

Published March 21, 2023

/ Updated January 07, 2025

Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images

A southwestern Louisiana patient who was recently hospitalized for a severe case of bird flu (H5N1 avian influenza) has died, health officials confirmed. This is the first person in the United States who has died from bird flu.

The patient, who contracted bird flu after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds, was over the age of 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Health told AARP. Flu can be especially serious in older adults, who are at higher risk for developing complications in part due to changes in the immune system that happen with age, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.

“While tragic, a death from H5N1 bird flu in the United States is not unexpected because of the known potential for infection with these viruses to cause severe illness and death,” the CDC said in a statement. More than 950 cases of H5N1 bird flu have been reported worldwide, and about half of them have resulted in death, according to the CDC.

Since 2024, there have been 66 confirmed human cases of bird flu in the U.S. — most have been mild and were acquired through contact with infected cattle. Despite the newly confirmed death, the CDC says the immediate risk of bird flu remains low for the public, and that no person-to-person spread of the virus has been detected.

“However, people with job-related or recreational exposures to infected birds or other animals are at greater risk of infection,” and should follow precautions, the CDC says.

Here’s what you need to know about the evolving situation.

What is bird flu?

Just like humans can get infected with influenza, different versions of the virus can infect animals, including birds.

Bird flu is caused by influenza A viruses that spread among wild aquatic birds (ducks, geese, gulls, etc.) and can infect poultry (chickens and turkeys).

Bird flu can infect other animals, as is the case with the H5N1 strain, which has been detected in mammals such as foxes, bears, seals, mountain lions and cows. As of Jan. 6, 16 U.S. states have reported outbreaks in dairy cows.

Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at Mayo Clinic, tells AARP that infections in mammals often happen when the animal either eats infected birds or encounters a carcass. Mammals exposed to environments with a high concentration of the virus are also susceptible to infection, Tim Uyeki, M.D., the chief medical officer of the CDC’s Influenza Division, said in an “Ask the Expert” post.

Are humans at risk from bird flu?

Bird flu infections in humans remain rare, health officials say, especially among those who are not in close contact with birds or other infected animals.

Infections can happen when the virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth or is inhaled, and symptoms can range from mild to severe. Importantly, we have yet to see sustained human-to-human transmission of bird flu, says Sabrina Assoumou, M.D., an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center and a professor of medicine at Boston University’s Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine.

“However, because of the possibility that bird flu viruses could change and gain the ability to spread easily between people, monitoring for human infection and person-to-person spread is extremely important for public health,” the CDC says.

On its website, the agency adds: “Signals that could raise the public health risk include multiple, simultaneous reports of human infections with A(H5N1) viruses following exposure to birds or other animals, or identification of spread from one infected person to another.”

What about bird flu vaccines and treatments?

Your seasonal flu shot won’t protect you from a bird flu infection, but the CDC has vaccine formulas ready that target bird flu, and they could be used if the virus spread among people.

The antiviral treatments approved for seasonal influenza are recommended for people infected with avian influenza, including H5N1, according to the CDC. Because antiviral treatments work best when started as soon as symptoms begin, contact your state or local health department and a health care provider right away if you get sick after being in close contact with potentially infected birds.

Symptoms of bird flu and seasonal flu are similar. Keep an eye out for:

Fever
Chills
Cough
Sore throat
Shortness of breath
Headaches
Runny or stuffy nose
Body aches
Diarrhea

What can you do to lower your risk of infection?

The advice from health experts is to exercise caution around sick or dead animals.

“If you own poultry or have birds on your property and any [of them] come down with an illness or die, do not handle the birds,” Binnicker says. “Contact your local or state public health officials to come and investigate.” (To keep your flocks from getting infected, take steps to prevent their exposure to wild birds, which carry the disease and don’t always appear sick.)

The same goes if you’re out hunting and come across dead animals or birds — don’t touch the carcass. “Because, again, the cases that have occurred in humans have been from direct interaction and exposure with an infected or dead animal,” Binnicker says.

Be sure to cook your poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165°F to kill bacteria and viruses, including bird flu viruses, the CDC says. Given the latest infections popping up in cows, avoid unpasteurized (raw) milk or products made from raw milk such as cheeses. There are not safety concerns with the commercial milk supply, federal health agencies say, because products are pasteurized — heated to a certain temperature for a specific period to kill any germs present — before entering the market.

“And then from the human side, just the lessons that we’ve learned through the pandemic: If you have a respiratory illness, stay home. If you have to go out in public, wear a mask and go get tested, because finding out what the cause of the disease is, that is also still very important,” Binnicker says. A health care provider can test you for bird flu with a swab of the nose or throat.

Editor’s note: This story, first published March 21, 2023, has been updated to include new information.

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