Kim Mas | Vox

Is it time to worry about bird flu?

2025-02-13T18:19:58-05:00

Novogen Brown chickens at an egg farm in Briones, California, on February 14, 2023. | David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images

You may have noticed egg prices going up, and even eggs being scarce. Bird flu is to blame, but it doesn’t just affect egg prices — and it doesn’t just affect birds. Avian flu is responsible for the deaths of mammals all over the globe. And this January, the US reported a human death from bird flu.

All this raises the question: If bird flu is killing animals right and left, and has killed at least one human, should we be worried?

To answer that, I spoke with dozens of experts to create the video below. I also spoke with Sean Collins, a news editor at Vox and the host of the Today, Explained newsletter, about everything I’d learned in the course of my reporting. Check out our conversation (edited for length and clarity), below.

What is bird flu?

Avian flu — or bird flu — is an influenza virus that seems to originate in waterfowl (like ducks or geese), but that can spread to any animal, including humans. When waterfowl spread the virus — usually through their droppings or bodily fluids — we can see some pretty bad effects in birds. In domesticated poultry, we see an almost 100 percent mortality rate.

Are we in a bird flu pandemic?

The term pandemic tends to refer to the unchecked spread of a disease among humans; experts told me what we’re seeing here is a panzootic, which is essentially a pandemic that affects animals. This strain of bird flu is on every continent except Australia — and Australia has its own deadly strain going around. It’s also in our waters. It’s in dolphins, in seals, and in sea lions — in 2023, 24,000 sea lions washed up in South America, dead from avian flu.

The flu has been devastating for poultry populations. You see birds acting almost like they’re drunk, struggling to walk, before they just collapse. To try to stop the spread, farms are mass culling chickens, often in horrible ways.

The amount of mammals that bird flu is infecting right now is astronomical.

Do humans have to worry about this sparking a pandemic?

Humans can get bird flu. Infections that have crossed over into humans are typically mild, but worth monitoring: At least one person has died from this, though experts see that death as an outlier.

There are lots of viruses out there that make animals sick, but that don’t pose a threat to humans because they don’t have the characteristics needed for human-to-human spread. Right now, you can catch bird flu from an animal, but you’re not going to give it to somebody else. Unless that changes, we’re not in pandemic territory.

The thing experts are keeping an eye on is the amount of contact humans (and species that have a lot in common with humans) have with infected animals. The more contact this strain of bird flu has with various animals, the more opportunities it has to replicate. With each replication comes the possibility for genetic reassortment and mutations — basically for changes to the virus’s structure that could alter its characteristics. Those changes could make it into something that spreads more easily among humans.

That’s a lot of coulds, which is why, while you should know that avian flu does have pandemic potential, you shouldn’t panic about it.

What can people do to protect themselves?

Be aware that the flu is circulating among animals we’re frequently around, like chickens and cows. If you work on a farm, some experts are advising PPE, particularly for dairy and poultry professionals.

Don’t consume animal products that haven’t undergone safety treatments. That means don’t — do not — drink raw milk. Pasteurized milk is very safe. The same goes for meat: Don’t eat it raw right now.

If you see a bird acting funny, stay away from them.

Get your flu shot. While it won’t protect against avian flu, it will help protect against seasonal influenza. Again, reassortment is one of the big dangers here, and should someone have seasonal flu and bird flu at the same time, that creates an opportunity for bird flu to change in ways that could make it more dangerous to humans.

This piece originally ran in the Today, Explained newsletter. For more stories like this, sign up here.

2024, in 4 minutes

2024-12-23T18:24:01-05:00

2024 saw over 60 elections worldwide, many of which were marked with controversy. It was undoubtedly a divisive year both within and along borders. The war in Ukraine is now in its third year. Syrian rebels toppled the Assad regime after years of fighting. South Korea erupted into chaos after the prime minister declared martial law and was subsequently impeached. In the United States, President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed VP Kamala Harris, who ultimately lost to Donald Trump.

Despite the tumultuous, seemingly never-ending wave of current events, people still found escape and unity in the Olympics, Brat summer, and a rambunctious pygmy hippo.

2024 had much of the world voting for change. Onward to 2025, where we will find out what it means.

Why every restaurant has the same desserts

2024-12-04T10:05:48-05:00

This video is presented by Bluehost. Bluehost doesn’t influence our editorial decisions, but they make videos like this possible.

When choosing a restaurant, you probably look at a few things: What type of food do they serve? How close is it? Are they allergen- or kid-friendly? You’re very likely looking at the list of entrees available to see if anything strikes you before even making a reservation. It’s a pretty typical way to choose a restaurant. After all, you want to enjoy your night out. But chef-instructor Kathryn Gordon from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York has one more suggestion: “I think you should try to look at the dessert menu more.”

Desserts at most restaurants have gotten boring. You might find an incredible blend of cocktails or a wide-ranging wine list, followed by a well-curated list of sharable plates for appetizers, and of course the entrees will almost always offer some sort of wow factor. Oftentimes, dessert isn’t even on the main menu. Even the menu itself can feel like an afterthought — and when it hits the table, you’re likely staring down the same options you’ve seen hundreds of times before. There’s a reason for this. Check out the video above to learn more.

Further reading

If you want to learn more about how pastry chefs are “going extinct,” Bon Appetit wrote a great article in 2022.
You can read more about the vanilla and cocoa crises we mention in the video as well as further information on where our cocoa comes from on Statistica.

Why Red 3 is still in your candy

2024-10-30T15:52:13-04:00

In 1990, the FDA banned the use of Red No. 3 in topical drugs and cosmetics. Its cited reasoning was that the color additive was “not shown to be safe,” because when fed to rats, Red No. 3 was found to slightly increase the risk of thyroid cancer. Today, that same dye is still found in candy corn, ring pops, Pez, and nearly 3,000 other foods that we eat, which raises the question: If it’s not safe to put on our skin … is it really safe to ingest? Many researchers, advocates, and now state lawmakers say no.

Last year, California passed a bill formally banning Red No. 3 and several other additives from food in the state. The bill gives the food industry until 2027 to remove the additives from its products, and the industry is already responding, with companies like Pediasure quickly removing the dye from its shakes.

The question remains, though: Where is the federal ban on Red No. 3 in food if the FDA deemed it unsafe for topical uses over 30 years ago?

Vox’s podcast Explain It to Me put out an episode about dyes, too. You can check it out here.