OpinionFebruary 7, 20254 min readThe US Is Not Ready for Bird Flu in HumansBird flu is infecting more people than we think. We need to stop it now before a new pandemic beginsBy Megha Satyanarayana edited by Dan Vergano Aberration Films LTD/Science Photo Library/Getty ImagesRight after President Donald Trump took office, amid the flurry of executive orders and agency upheavals, the administration told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not to release any reports or communications until one of Trumps people could take a look at them. Among the many reports not released that week was a study on how many veterinarians had gotten bird flu.On the surface, this might seem like a small thing compared to the drama unfolding over tariffs, immigration, the firings of inspectors general and whatever new, egregious thing Elon Musk is doing without congressional approval. But this report matters. The H5N1 bird flu virus has been on the warpath since 2022, infecting chickens, cows, wild birds and now pigs, ducks, cats and several other animals.This virus is versatile. This virus is mutating. And it is surely infecting more people than we think.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Sure, the risk of a human epidemic is still considered low. (Sound familiar?) Widespread human-to-human disease hasnt been proven. But viruses are masters of adaptation a strain of bird flu that has made people really sick has now been found in cows. We are one fateful mutation away from yet another infectious disease that runs riot among people, and our country has just reelected a president who doesnt just discount public health, but actively thwarts it. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who would run our biggest health care agency, has not publicly walked back his antivaccine sentiments. The doctors who would run the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health both decried common sense infection control during COVID. Our agricultural and food safety systems [MS1] are riddled with loopholes that have allowed this virus to spread.Weve seen this movie before. Millions of people have died in the COVID pandemic that began under Trumps watch. The Biden administration has missed key opportunities to stop bird flus spread. As a nation, we still have not recovered from the physical, mental and social toll of COVID. What will happen if bird flu starts coursing through us?In January U.S. poultry producers killed a staggering 14 million egg-laying hens. In December 2024, that number was 13.2 million. Avian influenza not only spreads quickly; it kills quickly toousually within a couple of days. When poultry producers find infected birds, whether in tight cages or roaming free-range, they basically get paid to kill the entire flock to try and slow down the disease. This is how we have managed avian flu in the past.But then in March 2024 H5N1 started appearing in dairy cows. The USDA asked farmers to separate sick cows from the herd. Milk cows get trucked around a lot, farm to farm, state to state. It was one month later, after multiple herds were already affected, that the federal government started requiring that they be tested before crossing state lines. Some states with infected herds took months to require testing. Until December we werent required to test milk to help track infection. Only the sickest cows are culled, meaning disease can still spread. Despite all the killing of chickens, how we handled cows is a huge part of why bird flu is still circulating. A slightly different strain has now infected ducks. The Biden administration had a good opportunity to slow this virus. Yet here we are.I cant wrap my head around how hard it would be to vaccinate thousands of chickens. Do you think factory farms will substantially ease the crowding conditions that are simply cruel, even without a quickly spreading virus thrown in the mix?So now people are getting sick. Most of them are farm workers. But how many people, really, have gotten H5N1? In our current immigration environment, who expects a sick farm worker to voluntarily get tested? Go to the doctor? Find a way to isolate in crowded living and work conditions? Go to a hospital in a state such as Texas, where there are chickens and cows all over the place, and hospitals are required to ask a persons citizenship status? In rural areas, who stocks influenza tests, let alone ones that are specific for H5N1?History gives us reason for pessimism. The Trump administration and red-state officials had no problem downplaying the number of people who had COVID. If H5N1 becomes more transmissible, will we do the same again?This is why that report on veterinarians is importantthe question isnt if they are getting infected, its how many. If we want to understand how this virus spreads and how it may morph into something dangerous to humans, we need open, unvarnished data. Slowing the flow of communication increases the flow of disease. The pause on CDC communications was supposed to lift on Feb. 1. The report still hasnt been released.Before Biden left office, HHS gave Moderna $590 million to make an mRNA-based vaccine for bird flu, calling it a move to strengthen pandemic preparedness. We have an H5N1 vaccine stockpilebut farmworkers arent getting it. Do we have any faith that RFK, Jr., will push to authorize either the stockpile or Modernas offering? This is the man who tried to stop the availability of COVID vaccines at the height of the pandemic.As the Trump administration slashes and burns federal government, as his cronies take the helms of agencies designed to uphold the health and welfare of both humans and the animals we use for food, Im preparing for a repeat of their COVID response. Maybe we will be lucky and fewer people will die. But we didnt have to get sick in the first place.My partner made a joke the other day about fixing himself a $50 omelet. A couple of days ago, Waffle House announced a price hike. So much for bringing grocery prices down. Eggs feed millions of Americans. Weve long known that public health is an economic issue. Right now, it is decidedly a political one, too. Lets see if the administration will at least act on that.This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those of Scientific American.