CDC ends bird flu emergency as infections decline, public risk remains low

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially declared an end to the bird flu emergency. The emergency response to the H5N1 bird flu, which was activated on April 4, 2024, has been deactivated as of July 2. This decision was made based on declining animal infections and the absence of human cases since February.

Moving forward, the CDC will now combine its bird flu updates with its routine influenza updates starting on July 7. Data on the number of people monitored and tested for bird flu will be reported on a monthly basis. Additionally, the CDC will no longer report on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in animals, such as cows, with that information now being available on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website.

Despite the end of the emergency response, Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, expressed concern about the potential spread of H5N1 within poultry and to other species. He noted that while there may be a dip in numbers during this time of year due to migratory bird patterns, he expects cases to surge back up in the fall.

Overall, the CDC reassures the public that there is currently no known person-to-person spread of bird flu and that the current public health risk is low. There have been a total of 70 human cases of bird flu and one death reported nationally.

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