Topline Here’s the latest news about a global outbreak of H5N1 bird flu that started in 2020, and recently spread among cattle in U.S. states and marine mammals across the world, which has health officials closely monitoring it and experts concerned the virus could mutate and eventually spread to humans, where it has proven rare but deadly.
A sign warns of a outbreak of bird flu. Timeline July 12 Colorado authorities announced three workers in a commercial egg operation have presumptive positive cases of bird flu, bringing the state’s count of known human infections up to as high as five—and the national number to seven—though authorities said none of the workers have been hospitalized, and showed “common respiratory infection symptoms” and pink eye. It’s the first time multiple cases have been recorded at the same location.
July 3 Colorado health officials confirmed the state’s second human case of bird flu in a dairy farm worker who has since recovered and only had mild symptoms, reporting pink eye. June 25 Finland said it plans to begin vaccinating vulnerable populations like farm workers against bird flu as early as next week using 10,000 vaccine series—each with two doses—acquired as part of a European Union deal with vaccine maker CSL Seqirus to provide up to 40 million vaccines to 15 countries. June 11 The World Health Organization announced a four-year-old child in India was infected with H9N2 bird flu—a different flu strain from H5N1—but recov.