Birx added that her greatest fear is someone getting infected with bird flu during the regular seasonal flu, potentially triggering mutations that make the former far more infectious to humans.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified mutations in the H5N1 bird flu virus that may increase its ability to infect humans. These mutations, found in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene,

The first severe case of H5N1 bird flu was confirmed in Louisiana. Here is a map of other states that have been affected.

When, where and how the H5N1 bird flu virus may evolve and its capacity to spark a pandemic is hard to predict — in part, some researchers say, because of federal restrictions on gain-of-function research.

The United States has confirmed its first known severe human infection of H5N1 bird flu, in a person in Louisiana believed to have contracted the virus through contact with sick or dead birds in a backyard flock.

The patient was likely infected after having contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier this month.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as H5N1 bird flu, was confirmed in a flock of 24 birds in Franklin County after samples were tested by lab in Iowa, Vermont officials said in a statement.

The presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or H5N1 bird flu, has been confirmed after officials worked to quarantine a backyard flock in Franklin County last week. HPAI was confirmed in the 24-bird flock by Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture,

A genetic analysis of the H5N1 bird flu in a Louisiana patient reveals potential mutations for human transmissibility, says the CDC.