Top virologists sound the alarm on bird flu and plead with world leaders to prepare for another pandemic
Leading virologists from over 40 countries are sounding the alarm over the increasing threat of H5N1 avian flu—which can cause coughing, body aches, fatigue, pneumonia, and other symptoms in humans—urging global leaders to step up with a range of measures and to use knowledge gained during the COVID pandemic.
'In the U.S. sporadic human infections with no known contact with infected animals highlight the possibility of viral adaptation for efficient human-to-human transmission,' Global Virus Network (GVN) scientists write in a commentary published this week in The Lancet Regional Health–Americas. 'Concurrently, the virus continues to circulate in wild birds, backyard flocks, and hunted migratory species, further amplifying the risk to humans and domestic animals.'
The experts compel leaders to address the issue by boosting surveillance, enhancing biosecurity, and preparing for potential human-to-human viral transmission.
The authors note that more than 995 dairy cow herds and at least 70 people have been infected with H5N1, including severe cases and the first reported U.S. death.
'Understanding the current landscape of H5N1 infections is critical for effective prevention and response,' Dr. Sten H. Vermund, chief medical officer of the GVN and dean of the USF Health College of Public Health at the University of South Florida, said in a press release. 'The virus's ability to infect both animals and humans, combined with recent genetic changes, underscores the importance of proactive surveillance and rapid response measures.'
The highly pathogenic influenza virus is now circulating in all 50 states and Canada, the virologists warn, resulting in the loss or culling of more than 168 million poultry animals in the U.S. since 2022. While human-to-human transmission is not documented, experts warn that virus mutations or the combination of two flu viruses could increase transmissibility.
The researchers made several recommendations:
Continuously monitoring animals, including testing milk, wastewater, and people working with infected animals, to track virus evolution that may lead to human-to human transmissibility.
Accelerating the sharing of genomic data among global research networks to track virus evolution and spread.
Using personal protective equipment and strict farm-cleaning protocols.
Advocating for self-administered diagnostic tests for farmworkers and health care access for frontline medical workers.
Providing more funding for responses, especially in high-risk regions.
Investing in predicting traits of avian flu viruses from genetic data.
Developing and rapidly administering vaccines to people and animals.
Conducting clinical studies on the properties of emerging virus strains, potential therapies, and vaccines.
'A robust nationwide monitoring system is essential to quickly detect and quarantine affected animals and implement preventive measures to curb further spread and human infections,' said Elyse Stachler, GVN member and a research scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. 'Further, we believe it is crucial to maintain trust and stakeholder buy-in for monitoring programs, particularly from farmworkers.'
'We are advocating for community-driven strategies to ensure the successful implementation of vaccines, if necessary,' said Dr. Christian Bréchot, president emeritus of the GVN and director of the USF Health Microbiomes Institute and senior associate dean for research in global affairs in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. 'The situation with H5N1 demands heightened vigilance and collaboration across public health sectors. Early detection and robust surveillance are critical to prevent further spread.'
More on infectious disease:
At this rate, measles could become endemic again within 2 decades, researchers warn
As measles spreads throughout the U.S., here's how to tell if you need a booster shot
What are the symptoms of bird flu and how does it spread?
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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Aethlon Medical to Present New Pre-Clinical Data at the Keystone Symposium on Long COVID and Other Post-Acute Infection Syndromes
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An Uproar at the NIH
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More than 300 officials, from across all of the NIH's 27 institutes and centers, have signed and sent a letter to Bhattacharya that condemns the changes that have thrown the agency into chaos in recent months—and calls on their director to reverse some of the most damaging shifts. Since January, the agency has been forced by Trump officials to fire thousands of its workers and rescind or withhold funding from thousands of research projects. Tomorrow, Bhattacharya is set to appear before a Senate appropriations subcommittee to discuss a proposed $18 billion slash to the NIH budget—about 40 percent of the agency's current allocation. The letter, titled the Bethesda Declaration (a reference to the NIH's location in Bethesda, Maryland), is modeled after the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter published by Bhattacharya and two of his colleagues in October 2020 that criticized 'the prevailing COVID-19 policies' and argued that it was safe—even beneficial—for most people to resume life as normal. The approach that the Great Barrington Declaration laid out was, at the time, widely denounced by public-health experts, including the World Health Organization and then–NIH director Francis Collins, as dangerous and scientifically unsound. The allusion in the NIH letter, officials told me, isn't meant glibly: 'We hoped he might see himself in us as we were putting those concerns forward,' Jenna Norton, a program director at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and one of the letter's organizers, told me. None of the NIH officials I spoke with for this story could recall another time in their agency's history when staff have spoken out so publicly against a director. But none of them could recall, either, ever seeing the NIH so aggressively jolted away from its core mission. 'It was time enough for us to speak out,' Sarah Kobrin, a branch chief at the National Cancer Institute, who has signed her name to the letter, told me. To preserve American research, government scientists—typically focused on scrutinizing and funding the projects most likely to advance the public's health—are now instead trying to persuade their agency's director to help them win a political fight with the White House. In an emailed statement, Bhattacharya said, 'The Bethesda Declaration has some fundamental misconceptions about the policy directions the NIH has taken in recent months, including the continuing support of the NIH for international collaboration. Nevertheless, respectful dissent in science is productive. We all want the NIH to succeed.' A spokesperson for HHS also defended the policies the letter critiqued, arguing that the NIH is 'working to remove ideological influence from the scientific process' and 'enhancing the transparency, rigor, and reproducibility of NIH-funded research.' The agency spends most of its nearly $48 billion budget powering science: It is the world's single-largest public funder of biomedical research. But since January, the NIH has canceled thousands of grants—originally awarded on the basis of merit—for political reasons: supporting DEI programming, having ties to universities that the administration has accused of anti-Semitism, sending resources to research initiatives in other countries, advancing scientific fields that Trump officials have deemed wasteful. Prior to 2025, grant cancellations were virtually unheard-of. 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A new COVID-19 variant, vaccine changes: What to know in 2025 Show Caption Hide Caption RFK Jr. says COVID-19 vaccine no longer recommended for some The COVID-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says. Like it or not, COVID-19 is still a public health issue five years after the start of the pandemic flipped the nation, and the world, on its head. Changing vaccination guidelines, ever-evolving variants and strains, threats to health insurance and more mean COVID is still very much a regular conversation on the lips of lawmakers, regulators and the general public. More than 40,000 positive tests were reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May, and while hospitalizations and deaths are fortunately down significantly since the pandemic's peak, vulnerable people are still grappling with limiting their risk amid changing practices. Here is a brief recap of the status of COVID cases, variants and vaccines in the U.S. as of June 4, 2025. Where do COVID cases currently stand in the US? According to the most recent data on the CDC's COVID Data Tracker dashboard, there were 735 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in May 2025 as of May 24. In the four weeks leading up to May 24, 3% of 1,344,681 COVID tests administered nationwide were positive. New NB.1.8.1 COVID variant In January, a new COVID-19 variant known as NB.1.8.1 was first detected in China. As of mid-May, the variant had reached 10.7% of global reported COVID-19 cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). As of May 27, less than 20 cases of NB.1.8.1 had been reported in the U.S., a CDC spokesperson told USA TODAY. This figure is too low to be added to the CDC's COVID Data Tracker dashboard, the spokesperson added, though they did not clarify the threshold for adding new variants to the dashboard. New COVID variant in China: Here's what to know about NB.1.8.1 NB.1.8.1 is one of the latest variants of COVID-19, a "slightly upgraded version" of the LP.8.1 variant that is prominent right now, Subhash Verma, microbiology and immunology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, previously told USA TODAY. For comparison, LP.8.1 made up 70% of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. between April 26 and May 10, as reported by the CDC. Verma said NB.1.8.1 may be able to be transferred more easily than LP.8.1. Additionally, he said that NB.1.8.1 is able to evade antibodies created by vaccines or past infections more easily than LP.8.1. The variant has similar symptoms to other strains, including fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, sore throat, congestion or a runny nose, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, nausea or vomiting. Vaccine back-and-forth: Who can get it and will there be new boosters? Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on May 27 that the COVID-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the CDC's recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, a move that broke with previous expert guidance and bypassed the normal scientific review process. Under the changes, the only people who will be recommended for COVID-19 vaccines are those over 65 and people with existing health problems. This could make it harder for others who want the COVID-19 vaccine to get it, including health care workers and healthy people under 65 with a vulnerable family member or those who want to reduce their short-term risk of infection. RFK changes vaccine recommendations: Want a COVID vaccine? It could cost you $200. Insurance coverage typically follows federal recommendations, so anyone who is healthy and under 65 is likely to have to pay out of pocket to get the shot, which runs about $200, if they can get it. It's not clear what insurance companies will do about the new recommendations. RFK Jr. is a vaccine skeptic known for making false claims about vaccination and other medical practices. Under his leadership and the Trump administration, the FDA canceled the advisory meeting of independent experts who usually gather to formulate new flu shots annually and nixed a contract with Moderna to develop a bird flu vaccine amid the spread. He also pushed false claims about MMR vaccines as measles, previously eradicated in the U.S., began erupting in states across the country, causing the first death in a decade. It is not yet known how accessible the COVID-19 vaccine will be moving forward. Contributing: Karen Weintraub, Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY; Reuters
