Hungary and Italy have both reported an outbreak of the severe H5N1 avian influenza virus in the first such cases in the countries for several months, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said,

In what could be the first cases of bird flu spreading between humans in the United States, a group of potential H5N1 infections in Missouri has now grown to eight. However, state health officials are still awaiting antibody tests to confirm whether the H5N1 infection is growing,

The latest developments are highly concerning, as they raise the possibility that the H5N1 virus has evolved the ability to transmit from human-to-human and thus the potential to cause the next pandemic.

Germany reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu on a farm in the eastern region of Saxony near the border with the Czech Republic, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday.

Dhillon is an instructor in the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Karan is an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist at Stanford University. Srikrishna is founder of Patient Knowhow.

In what could be the first cases of bird flu spreading between humans in the United States, a group of potential H5N1 infections in Missouri has now grown to eight. Antibody tests to confirm any H5N1 infection are still pending.