We report the detection of a clade 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1) reassortant virus with a neuraminidase surface protein derived from a North American lineage low-pathogenic avian influenza virus. This virus caused a widespread and ongoing outbreak across 45 poultry farms in British Columbia, Canada. Isolates fro …

The women, ages 72 and 56, were both from Guangdong province in southern China.

Canada has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N5 avian influenza on a non-commercial backyard layer poultry farm in the eastern part of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Tuesday.

Correction to: An Update on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus, Clade 2.3.4.4b

The flu has hit Minnesota especially hard this season, sending more than 5,600 people to the hospital and threatening to help bird flu mutate and become a more serious public health risk.

As cases of seasonal influenza surge, health officials are closely monitoring a growing threat—the potential fusion of human and bird flu strains.

What Makes the Bird Flu Virus So Unusual?

H5N1 is a human creation

Both patients, boys ages 2 and 15 years old, are from Hunan province in southern China.

Amid a shakeup in U.S. science, researchers are expressing alarm over the integrity of key genetic databases overseen by the NIH.

Ugh. Moo.

Avian influenza virus (AIV) remains a significant global threat, with periodic reemergence in Iraq. This study marks the first molecular characterization of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in seagulls. The H5N1 AIV was identified during outbreaks in 2024 at Dukan Lak …

How did H5N9 influenza infect a commercial duck farm in California, and what is the likelihood we will see more of this viral subtype? Here is what we know so far.

Bird flu has decimated poultry flocks and infected cattle herds. The risk to humans is currently low, but that could easily change as influenza can rapidly change.

This is the first time a highly dangerous form of the H5N9 virus has appeared in the US.

The latest variant was found on a farm in California.

When bird flu first struck dairy cattle a year ago, it seemed possible that it might affect a few isolated herds and disappear as quickly as it had

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has spilled into many mammals, most notably cows and poultry, with several dozen human breakthrough infections. Zoonotic crossovers, with hemagglutinins mutated to enhance viral ability to use human α2-6-linked sialic acid receptors versus avian α2-3-linked ones, hi …

The British scientist on the risk of humans contracting bird flu, how people would cope with new lockdowns and being asked to pour the tea because she is a woman

The risk that avian influenza viruses will adapt better to humans is increasing. Rapid detection of genetic changes in these types of viruses and rapid

Scientists are raising the alarm over a potential new pandemic virus that could be emerging in California. They fear that H5N1 could swap genes with another H5 virus, potentially creating a more dangerous strain of the disease.

The finding at a California duck farm is raising alarms among public health experts that bird flu could further mutate into “unpredictable new viruses.”

Two European regulators said on Wednesday they were tracking variants of the bird flu virus due to the threat of the pathogen adapting to spread between humans and triggering future pandemics.

A new report found 34 potential genetic mutations which could increase the possibility of transmission of avian flu from animals to humans.

PARIS: A new strain of bird flu has been confirmed at a duck farm in California, the first time the variant has been discovered in poultry in the United States,

A different strain of H5N9 has shown up in U.S. birds before.

Bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading among livestock and other mammals in the United States, raising concerns that another pandemic may be looming. Last month, California declared a state of emergency due to rising cases in dairy cattle, and there have been over 65 human cases in the U.S. during this outbreak. While cases have been largely mild and risk to the public is still considered low, scientists warn it could evolve and become more dangerous. Curious about other health updates? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

Reassortant highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N2) clade 2.3.4.4.b viruses were detected from ducks and environmental samples in Egypt, June 2024. Genomic and phylogenetic analyses revealed a novel genotype produced by reassortment of an A(H5N1) clade 2.3.3.4b virus with an A(H9N2) G1-like virus. …