H5N1 Bird flu: Your questions, answered
Egg prices are high and the culprit is H5N1 bird flu. Millions of birds have died from the virus itself or in attempts to control the spread. Is an H5N1 pandemic coming?
Listen 51:04
An employee closes a cage as a chicken waits to be slaughtered inside the La Granja Live Poultry Corporation store on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
As the H5N1 virus circulates among wild birds, poultry and cows, scientists worry the risk of a human pandemic is growing. The disease has been detected in at least 68 in the United States so far and resulted in one death.
In an attempt to contain the spread, millions of chickens have been culled – impacting farmers across the country and leading to a surge in egg prices for businesses and consumers.
Could bird flu become the next pandemic, and if the threat is real, is the federal government prepared to handle it?
Guests:
Lena Sun – staff writer covering public health and infectious disease for The Washington Post
Angela Rasmussen – virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan
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