Nationally, this avian flu sickened at least 66 people in 2024, mostly dairy farmworkers who came in contact with diseased animals and contaminated milk. Most cases have been mild, but two infections late last year were more severe and more concerning.

Since early 2024, the U.S. has logged 66 human cases of H5N1. Scientists are keeping a watchful eye on the virus’s spread as we enter a new year.

When the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) transitions its leadership with a new incoming presidential administration, a thorough dialogue concerning vaccination for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) can be expected, a former USDA Under Secretary Hunt Shipman said.

Two months shy of the fifth anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic, the US has recorded its first human death as a result of avian influenza H5N1 infection. The unidentified Louisiana man contracted the virus through contact with infected wild and domestic birds on his property

Dr. Robert M. Califf bid farewell to his role as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a reflective post on X, formerly

U.S. senators who support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services will bear some responsibility for the consequences.

The agencies are charged with making decisions that touch the lives of every American and are the source of crucial information to health-care providers.

Trump’s decision is shortsighted and put the rest of the world is put at greater risk, say public health scholars

President Joe Biden's outgoing administration on Thursday announced $211 million in new funding to develop mRNA vaccines against emerging biothreats and said it was accelerating bird flu testing, as fears of another pandemic loom.

US health officials announced Friday they were awarding $590 million to Moderna to develop mRNA vaccines against influenza, including advancing the company's bird flu vaccine, as fears of a new pandemic grow.

Here’s what’s on USDA nominee Brooke Rollins’ to-do list. 1. Confirmation hearing: The Senate Ag Committee will meet for Rollins’ confirmation hearing on Thursday, as your host first reported. Rollins’ hearing was delayed due to missing financial disclosures and ethics agreements, which were released publicly Friday.

Raw milk comes directly from cows, sheep or goats. Some health and food safety experts say drinking raw milk doesn’t come without health risks. Lately, those concerns have been elevated as a deadly strain of bird flu is infecting dairy farms around the country.