Scientific American, 30 October 2024

If the influenza virus infecting cattle workers starts a pandemic, help in the form of a vaccine is months away

A Bird Flu Vaccine Might Come Too Late to Save Us from H5N1

H5N1 bird flu is here. It’s moving from animals to people in ways not seen before. It’s spreading to new species and new places, and this spread is largely happening under the radar.

So far 36 human cases have been reported in six U.S. states: California, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Texas and Washington. Those are just the cases that health officials know about. Not all states are testing people or animals. The tests for the virus are flawed and in short supply.

Most health officials say they are not really worried about H5N1 influenza just yet because the virus is so very rarely infecting people compared to the number of cattle and birds it’s affected. When it does, so far, it usually causes very mild symptoms and there’s no evidence so far that it can be transmitted from person to person. That’s the scary scenario: a new virus that causes severe disease among people that can be easily transmitted from one person to another. We are not there yet.