Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Steps to prevent and respond to an H5N1 epidemic in the USA

Subjects

Steps should be taken now to prevent an epidemic of H5N1 in humans and prepare for an outbreak should it occur.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Current Situation: Bird Flu in Dairy Cows (CDC, accessed 6 January 2025); https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/mammals.html

  2. Mellis, A. M. et al. MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly Rep. 73, 1004–1009 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Kupferschmidt, K. Science 380, 28–29 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Lin, T.-H. et al. Science 386, 1128–1134 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Ison, M. G. & Marrazzo, J. N. Engl. J. Med. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe2416323 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Peacock, T. P. et al. Nature 637, 302–313 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Gu, C. et al. Nature 636, 711–718 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Rust, S. As bird flu outbreaks rise, piles of dead cattle become shocking Central Valley tableau. Los Angeles Times (20 October, 2024).

  9. Dhillon, R & Srikrishna, D. Getting farmworkers to use PPE is hard, but it’s the best way to stop an H5N1 bird flu epidemic. STAT (12 June, 2024).

  10. United States Department of Agriculture. National Milk Testing Strategy (USDA, accessed 6 January 2025); https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/livestock/nmts

  11. Dhillon, R. S., Karan, A. & Srikrishna, D. Lancet Infect. Dis. 24, E608 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Tisza, M. J. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 391, 1157–1159 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Srikrishna, D. Health Secur. 22, 108–129 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Li, W. et al. Build. Environ. 230, 109988 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Roozenbeek, J. & van der Linden, S. JAMA 331, 1961–1962 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ranu S. Dhillon.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dhillon, R.S., Karan, A., Garry, R.F. et al. Steps to prevent and respond to an H5N1 epidemic in the USA. Nat Med 31, 1063–1065 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03527-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03527-8

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing