Farmers, animal rescues and zookeepers in Rhode Island are taking precautions to protect animals, their workers and the general public from bird flu.

In early December 2024, a group of researchers published an article in the journal Science, entitled "A single mutation in bovine influenza H5N1 hemagglutinin switches specificity to human receptors".

With reports of the first human death from bird flu in the US, some Americans are feeling an uncomfortable flashback to the early days of Covid-19, when infectious disease experts were talking about a new virus that was sending people to the hospital with respiratory infections.

Current strains of bird flu are “poorly suited for pandemic potential,” said Dr. Shira Doron, a Tufts Medicine infectious disease expert.

The first person in the U.S. just died from a strain of the virus in Louisiana, but there’s still some simple ways to stay safe.

A recent bird flu death has sparked fears that a "brand-new virus" could potentially mutate under the right conditions and lead to a "global pandemic"

Samples taken from the first patient who died from bird flu show that a strain of the virus has “mutated” to infect humans more effectively. A patient - hospitalised last month in Louisiana - died after the H5N1 strain of avian influenza infected the individual.