In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, avian flu began aggressively circulating in wildlife. Dead and sick birds began showing up on shorelines. Poultry farms were forced to cull millions of animals, often in horrific ways, to help stop the spread. Egg prices skyrocketed. Farmers lost millions of dollars. The problem doesn’t stop with birds; avian flu has also been found in a wide range of mammals. More than 24,000 sea lions in South America have reportedly died from it. Then, on January 6, 2025, the US reported the first human death. It’s an alarming development, but fortunately an outlier. The truth is avian flu still poses little threat to humans. But if we’re not worried now, when should we be?
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Video
Is it time to worry about bird flu?
A practical guide to your bird flu fears.
For more on bird flu from Vox:
- The bird flu doom loop
- Eggs are pricey again. What’s the government doing about it?
- No one wants to think about pandemics. But bird flu doesn’t care.
- The dairy industry really, really doesn’t want you to say “bird flu in cows”
- Why aren’t we vaccinating birds against bird flu?
- A frightening virus is killing a massive number of wild birds
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