Risk of Bird Flu Spreading to Humans Is Great Concern: World Health Organization

H5N1 avian flu has recently infected cows and goats in the United States.

Birds in Norway after a bird flu outbreak, in a file image. Yvind Zahl Arntzen/NTD/AFP via Getty Images

There’s a risk that avian influenza, after spreading to several new mammal species, will begin to infect more humans, the chief scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on April 18.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A, or H5N1, has recently infected cows and goats in the United States after spreading among chickens for years.