H5N1 bird flu has been changing in ways that raise alarms for many

H5N1 bird flu has been changing in ways that raise alarms for many Could the avian flu be our next pandemic threat? 27 August 2025 27 August 2025 7 minute read 7 minute read By: By: Stanford University North AmericaThe H5N1 bird flu, highly infectious and deadly in birds, has been around for nearly three decades, but recently, it has been changing in ways that raise alarms for many scientists and public health officials. Are we any better prepared for bird flu than we were for COVID-19, should it become more transmissible in people? Doing so could pull resources from the development of the seasonal flu vaccine. In the U.S., we still have not changed our public health response by centralizing it.