Alarming Pandemic Risk: H5N5 Avian Flu Surges, Experts Warn of Potential 2026 Outbreak

U.S. and global health officials are intensifying surveillance of bird flu as scientists warn 2026 could bring a higher risk of a human pandemic if the virus keeps evolving in animals.

In the United States, the Washington State Department of Health yesterday issued updated clinical guidance after confirming in November 2025 the nation’s first known human case of H5N5 avian influenza, a severe infection that resulted in death. The department stresses that overall risk to the general public remains low, but urges clinicians to ask flu patients about recent contact with sick birds, poultry, livestock, or raw milk and to test and isolate suspected cases quickly.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to report that current public health risk from bird flu is low, yet officials are closely watching dairy and poultry operations after the virus became established in U.S. dairy cattle in recent years. According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, California alone has accounted for more than half of the country’s confirmed human bird flu infections since 2021, largely among dairy and poultry workers with prolonged exposure to infected animals.

Globally, scientists interviewed by Science Focus warn that highly pathogenic H5N1 has infected hundreds of millions of farmed birds, spread widely in wild bird populations, and spilled over into a growing list of mammals. One virologist described the disease in wild animals as “completely out of control” and said there is no realistic way to contain it other than monitoring its spread. Experts caution that while human cases are still rare, every new animal outbreak is another opportunity for the virus to mutate in ways that might make sustained human-to-human transmission possible.

For now, health authorities in the U.S. and abroad are emphasizing basic precautions: avoid handling sick or dead birds, report unusual wildlife die-offs, and for farm and dairy workers, use protective gear and follow biosecurity rules. Seasonal flu vaccination is also being encouraged to reduce the risk of people being co-infected with both seasonal and avian influenza, a combination that could help the virus adapt more easily to humans.

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