Bird flu cases in humans are ticking up as the U.S. government funnels more than $300 million into strengthening its response to the outbreak and health experts find worrisome mutations in H5N1.
After samples from a severe bird flu case revealed mutations that could enable the virus to bind to the human upper respiratory tract more easily, the Biden administration committed $306 million to monitor and prepare for what could become another pandemic.
Ashish Jha, MD, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health in Providence, R.I., and former COVID-19 response coordinator, told ABC News there are two treatments that might work for the outbreak. One of those treatment options is vaccines, which the U.S. has a stockpile of about 5 million to 10 million doses, Dr. Jha said.
"Obviously [that is] not going to be enough, not going to be enough just to cover healthcare workers and dairy workers, but we need a lot more of that," he said. "So we need new investments in a new generation of vaccines, so that if it gets to human-to-human transmission, if it starts causing more serious illness, we are ready and we can protect people."
These stockpiled shots require FDA authorization before they can be jabbed in arms, but federal health officials recently said there is not a current need to authorize the vaccines.
Four other things to know:
1. In the 2024-25 virus season, the CDC has so far confirmed 66 novel influenza A(H5) -- bird flu -- infections in 10 states. Ten cases were in Colorado, 11 in Washington and 37 in California. The agency said it has not seen an uptick in emergency department visits related to the outbreaks.
2. All 50 states have bird flu outbreaks in poultry, and 16 states have outbreaks in cattle. As of Jan. 2, the virus has been detected in nearly 130 million poultry animals, nearly 11,000 wild birds and 915 dairy herds.
2024 is the first year that bird flu has been detected in cows.
3. The CDC said the general public's current risk of contracting bird flu is low, while those who are exposed to infected animals are at a greater risk. A majority of human bird flu cases were exposed from working with cattle or on poultry farms and culling operations.
There has been no evidence of person-to-person transmission, but just because "we haven't seen it yet," Dr. Jha said, "doesn't mean it can't happen. And we have to assume that it might very well happen somewhere down the road and we have to prepare for it. We have to act with that as a potential possibility."
4. Most human cases reported moderate symptoms, except for a Louisiana patient, who was hospitalized after being exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks. The patient is older than 65 and has underlying medical conditions that elevated the risk of flu complications, the CDC said Dec. 18.