CDC Ends H5N1 Bird-Flu Emergency as Infections Recede

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deactivated its emergency response to the H5N1 avian-influenza outbreak, shifting oversight back to its routine influenza division after a sustained decline in animal infections and five consecutive months without a human case. The emergency activation, in place since 4 April 2024, allowed the agency to surge staff and resources as the virus moved beyond poultry to infect more than 1,000 dairy-cattle herds across 17 states, raised egg prices and sickened 70 people—mostly farm workers—killing one. While the outbreak has affected an estimated 175 million birds in the United States since 2022, federal surveillance now records only sporadic detections. Health officials said the public-health risk remains low but pledged to maintain surveillance and swiftly re-escalate the response if human transmission re-emerges. Data on human monitoring will be published monthly rather than weekly, and animal infection tallies will be folded into broader seasonal-influenza reporting.