Bird Flu: What We Know So Far about H5N1 in the United States

Just over a month ago, in Texas, a person tested positive for the highly contagious influenza H5N1 strain, otherwise known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or “bird flu” or “avian flu.” Although the CDC still considers the risk to human health to be low, the number of infected animals is on the rise, with 34 dairy cattle herds in nine states currently affected.