By — Nicole Ellis Nicole Ellis Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-u-s-bird-flu-outbreak Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter What you need to know about the U.S. bird flu outbreak Nation Mar 14, 2023 2:56 PM EDT The H5N1 strain of bird flu has left the U.S. reeling as it tries to manage the deadliest bird flu outbreak in history. The PBS NewsHour’s William Brangham joined Nicole Ellis to explain the significance of this avian flu, the severity of the outbreak, and how it will affect people across the country. Watch the full conversation in the video player above. What is the bird flu? Birds carry flu in their stomachs all the time, Brangham said, and it typically doesn’t cause any problems for them or us. But, “Every now and then, one of those viruses” — like H5N1 — “becomes super contagious amongst birds and becomes deadlier to birds,” Brangham said. This specific strain has been circulating among birds for several years, but has only become deadly in the U.S. in the last year and a half. It’s spread rapidly not only among chickens, but also bird populations that aren’t typically infected with H5N1, like falcons, hawks, eagles, and owls, Brangham said. WATCH: A highly contagious strain of bird flu plagues farmers across the U.S. Should we be worried about human transmission? Brangham said bird flus very rarely jump to humans, and epidemiologists have told him there is not an immediate threat to the general population. But the outbreak is deeply concerning for the scientific community and something it is watching closely, Brangham said. In the few cases where humans have been infected by this strain of the bird flu, they are almost always cases where someone was directly in touch with birds that were infected or dealing with their feces or their excrement. In those cases, the mortality rate of bird flu among humans is high — about half of those infected, Brangham said. (We see this in history, too. The 1918 flu, an avian flu that became contagious among humans, killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide). MORE: Why another flu pandemic is likely just a matter of when What’s encouraging for epidemiologists right now is that individuals who became sick with the bird flu “did not pass the virus to other humans,” an indicator that the virus has not evolved to spread among humans.” What about consuming chicken or egg products? The avian flu has made egg prices skyrocket, and affected supply chains both within the U.S. and around the world. While that’s caused some pain at the grocery store, there’s no reason to worry about contracting bird flu from the food you bring home. “All the evidence that is out there right now is that cooking properly your chicken or eggs or turkey or whatever poultry product you’re eating … to the appropriate temperature, you’re not going to get the bird flu,” Brangham said, adding that farmers are also effectively culling their crops so that the virus doesn’t enter the flu supply. WATCH: What’s causing the price of eggs to skyrocket nationwide? “If you’re concerned, just do smart food safety practices: cook your eggs, cook your chicken, cook your turkey, really wash the boards that you’re using with those, wash your hands,” he said. “Just smart, basic kitchen practices will prevent anything like that from happening.” We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Nicole Ellis Nicole Ellis Nicole Ellis is PBS NewsHour's digital anchor where she hosts pre- and post-shows and breaking news live streams on digital platforms and serves as a correspondent for the nightly broadcast. Ellis joined the NewsHour from The Washington Post, where she was an Emmy nominated on-air reporter and anchor covering social issues and breaking news. In this role, she hosted, produced, and directed original documentaries and breaking news videos for The Post’s website, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Facebook and Twitch, earning a National Outstanding Breaking News Emmy Nomination for her coverage of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Ellis created and hosted The Post’s first original documentary series, “Should I freeze my eggs?,” in which she explores her own fertility and received the 2019 Digiday Publishers Award. She also created and hosted the Webby Award-winning news literacy series “The New Normal,” the most viewed video series in the history of The Washington Post’s women’s vertical, The Lily. She is the author of “We Go High,” a non-fiction self-help-by-proxy book on overcoming adversity publishing in 2022, and host of Critical Conversations on BookClub, an author-led book club platform. Prior to that, Ellis was a part of the production team for the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning series, CNN Heroes. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Human Rights from Columbia University, as well as a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia Journalism School.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has left the U.S. reeling as it tries to manage the deadliest bird flu outbreak in history. The PBS NewsHour’s William Brangham joined Nicole Ellis to explain the significance of this avian flu, the severity of the outbreak, and how it will affect people across the country. Watch the full conversation in the video player above. What is the bird flu? Birds carry flu in their stomachs all the time, Brangham said, and it typically doesn’t cause any problems for them or us. But, “Every now and then, one of those viruses” — like H5N1 — “becomes super contagious amongst birds and becomes deadlier to birds,” Brangham said. This specific strain has been circulating among birds for several years, but has only become deadly in the U.S. in the last year and a half. It’s spread rapidly not only among chickens, but also bird populations that aren’t typically infected with H5N1, like falcons, hawks, eagles, and owls, Brangham said. WATCH: A highly contagious strain of bird flu plagues farmers across the U.S. Should we be worried about human transmission? Brangham said bird flus very rarely jump to humans, and epidemiologists have told him there is not an immediate threat to the general population. But the outbreak is deeply concerning for the scientific community and something it is watching closely, Brangham said. In the few cases where humans have been infected by this strain of the bird flu, they are almost always cases where someone was directly in touch with birds that were infected or dealing with their feces or their excrement. In those cases, the mortality rate of bird flu among humans is high — about half of those infected, Brangham said. (We see this in history, too. The 1918 flu, an avian flu that became contagious among humans, killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide). MORE: Why another flu pandemic is likely just a matter of when What’s encouraging for epidemiologists right now is that individuals who became sick with the bird flu “did not pass the virus to other humans,” an indicator that the virus has not evolved to spread among humans.” What about consuming chicken or egg products? The avian flu has made egg prices skyrocket, and affected supply chains both within the U.S. and around the world. While that’s caused some pain at the grocery store, there’s no reason to worry about contracting bird flu from the food you bring home. “All the evidence that is out there right now is that cooking properly your chicken or eggs or turkey or whatever poultry product you’re eating … to the appropriate temperature, you’re not going to get the bird flu,” Brangham said, adding that farmers are also effectively culling their crops so that the virus doesn’t enter the flu supply. WATCH: What’s causing the price of eggs to skyrocket nationwide? “If you’re concerned, just do smart food safety practices: cook your eggs, cook your chicken, cook your turkey, really wash the boards that you’re using with those, wash your hands,” he said. “Just smart, basic kitchen practices will prevent anything like that from happening.” We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now