What we can VERIFY about bird flu amid the current outbreak

Avian influenza, or “bird flu,” is a disease caused by influenza A viruses that spread widely among wild birds, and can cause outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry flocks.

Though there are many kinds of bird flu, one especially contagious strain called highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) has led to poultry outbreaks in nearly every U.S. state. 

Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the largest producer of fresh eggs in the U.S., said on Tuesday, April 2, that it had temporarily halted production at a Texas plant after finding bird flu in its chickens. The virus was also found at a poultry facility in Michigan, and has infected dairy cows in Texas and Kansas. 

Though only two people in the U.S. have ever caught H5N1 bird flu and federal health officials say the risk to humans remains low, people online have raised concerns about a potential pandemic. According to Google search data, others are wondering if there is a bird flu vaccine, and whether it’s safe to eat eggs and drink milk during the current outbreak.

VERIFY is answering eight common questions about the H5N1 bird flu virus. 

THE SOURCES

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• CDC Director Mandy Cohen's interview with the Associated Press on April 3, 2024
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Article published by the University of California Davis 
• University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)
• The Cleveland Clinic
• Mount Sinai Hospital
• AARP
• American Veterinary Medical Association
• Ready.gov 
• Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health
• Connecticut State Department of Public Health
• Darin Detwiler, an associate teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern University

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WHAT WE FOUND

QUESTION #1

Is it safe to drink milk during the bird flu outbreak?

THE ANSWER

There is “no concern” from the FDA, USDA and CDC that milk in the commercial supply is unsafe. 

That’s because milk products are pasteurized before entering the market and “dairies are required to send only milk from healthy animals into processing for human consumption,” the federal agencies said in a joint update.

Pasteurization is the process of heating milk to a high enough temperature for a long enough time to kill harmful germs. 

“Milk from impacted animals is being diverted or destroyed so that it does not enter the human food supply,” the federal agencies said. “In addition, pasteurization has continually proven to inactivate bacteria and viruses, like influenza, in milk. Pasteurization is required for any milk entering interstate commerce for human consumption.”

On April 23, 2024, the FDA released an update stating that remnants of the virus that causes bird flu has been found in milk available at grocery stores. While "pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus," the FDA says the process is not expected to remove viral particles. The FDA said they are collecting a large sampling of milk nationwide to further understand the impact of these findings.

"To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe," the FDA said in the update. "Results from multiple studies will be made available in the next few days to weeks."

"There may be a risk of [bird flu] transmission” if a person consumes unpasteurized milk, according to an article published by UC Davis.

The FDA and other health officials have long warned against consuming unpasteurized, or raw, milk because it can carry dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, listeria and others that cause foodborne illness.

It is legal to sell raw milk “directly to consumers in some capacity” in about half of U.S. states, the CDC says.

In these states, a product may contain raw milk if the word “pasteurized” does not appear on its label, the FDA says. 

“Where I tend to pay more attention is when I’m in the specialty cheese section,” Barbara Kowalcyk, a food safety expert and associate professor and director of the Food Policy Institute at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, told AARP. “Especially if they’re selling locally branded cheese, it could potentially contain raw milk.”

QUESTION #2

Has anyone in the U.S. ever contracted bird flu?

THE ANSWER

Human cases of bird flu are rare, health officials say. Only two people in the United States have ever tested positive for the H5N1 strain.

In April 2022, the CDC reported the first-ever human case of H5N1 in a person who worked closely with sick birds as part of depopulation efforts. That person recovered after a few days, the CDC said. 

Most recently, the CDC announced on April 1, 2024, that a person in Texas contracted bird flu after they were exposed to the virus through sickened dairy cattle in Texas.

RELATED: Yes, humans can get the H5N1 bird flu, but it’s rare

QUESTION #3

Has bird flu spread between people in the U.S.?

THE ANSWER

There is no evidence of bird flu spreading from person-to-person in the U.S., federal health officials say.

Bird flu infections usually happen after someone has close contact with an infected animal, and then touches their mouth, eyes or nose, the CDC says. People can also breathe in the virus through droplets or dust in the air. 

The U.S. has “never had a documented case of human-to-human spread of avian flu,” CDC Director Mandy Cohen said during an interview with the Associated Press on April 3, 2024.

Bird flu viruses have spread between people outside of the U.S. in rare instances, but the spread has been limited to “close contacts,” according to the CDC. There is “no evidence of sustained,” or ongoing, “human-to-human spread” of bird flu, an article published by the University of California Davis says. 

QUESTION #4

Is there a bird flu vaccine for humans?

THE ANSWER

There are bird flu vaccines for humans, but they aren’t available to the public right now. 

The federal government’s vaccine stockpile includes shots that target bird flu viruses, including H5N1, according to the CDC. These shots could be used if bird flu begins spreading easily from person-to-person, the federal health agency says. 

In April 2007, the FDA approved the nation’s first H5N1 influenza vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur. The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) said at the time that federal officials hoped the vaccine “would buy some time to develop a more precisely targeted vaccine if the virus evolves into a pandemic strain.” 

Then, in 2013, the FDA approved a second H5N1 vaccine. Like the first approved vaccine, it was not made commercially available. The federal government purchased it for inclusion within the national stockpile “for distribution by public health officials if needed,” the FDA said. 

QUESTION #5

Are there treatments for people infected with bird flu?

THE ANSWER

There are treatments for bird flu that differ based on a person’s symptoms, Mount Sinai Hospital explains.

Like other influenza viruses, bird flu is often treated with antiviral medications. They include oseltamivir (Tamiflu), peramivir (Rapivab) and zanamivir (Relenza), according to the Cleveland Clinic. 

The person in the U.S. who most recently tested positive for H5N1 bird flu was treated with an antiviral drug for flu, the CDC said. 

People with severe bird flu infections may need to be placed on a breathing machine, Mount Sinai says. 

QUESTION #6

Is it safe to eat eggs during the bird flu outbreak?

THE ANSWER

It is safe to eat eggs during the bird flu outbreak.

“There is no evidence that the virus can be transmitted to humans through properly prepared food,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says. 

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also says the chance of infected poultry or eggs entering the food chain is extremely low because of safeguards in place that prevent infected products from reaching store shelves.

Fully cooking eggs further reduces the small chance of contracting any illness, including salmonella. 

Darin Detwiler, an associate teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern University, told VERIFY that the chances of contracting bird flu from a properly cooked egg are “virtually nonexistent.” 

The CDC says “properly cooked” or fully cooked eggs are eggs cooked to a temperature of 165 Fahrenheit. That temperature kills bacteria or viruses, including bird flu. At that temperature, there is no runniness and the yolks are firm.

“Bottom line - It's always wise to err on the side of caution. During an H5N1 outbreak, ensuring eggs are thoroughly cooked can minimize any risk, however small, of exposure to the virus,” Detwiler said.

RELATED: Yes, it is safe to eat eggs during the bird flu outbreak

QUESTION #7

Can bird flu infect pets like cats and dogs?

THE ANSWER

Bird flu can infect dogs or cats, but experts say the risk is low. The U.S. has not had any confirmed cases of bird flu in cats or dogs. 

“Certain mammals— including domestic cats and dogs — may become infected if they eat sick or dead infected birds, and there might be other ways the virus spreads. Still, the likelihood of cats and dogs catching HPAI seems very low,” the American Veterinary Medical Association says.

A spokesperson for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) also said in a statement provided to VERIFY partner station 11Alive that “H5N1 infection in dogs and cats is extremely rare, and has not been reported in the United States.”

As a precaution, the USDA's APHIS advises that dogs and cats should not have contact with infected poultry or dead animals.

"Dogs and cats should not be allowed to have contact with infected poultry or carcasses, not only to protect the pet but to prevent them from spreading the virus to other poultry flocks,"  APHIS said. "In areas where wild bird die-offs are occurring, cats should be kept inside and dogs kept on leash to avoid contact with sick or dead birds.”

QUESTION #8

Has bird flu been declared a pandemic?

THE ANSWER

The World Health Organization declares when an outbreak of an infectious disease becomes a global pandemic, like COVID-19. It has not declared H5N1 a pandemic. 

A pandemic is generally defined as “a disease outbreak that spans several countries and affects a large number of people,” the federal government’s ready.gov website says. Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health also explains that during a pandemic, a disease’s growth rate skyrockets and cases grow more each day.

Bird flu would only cause a pandemic if the virus mutates to be more contagious to humans and spread more easily person-to-person. – not just from birds, the Connecticut State Department of Public Health says on its website. But “that hasn’t happened yet – and it may never happen,” the state health department added.