Wisconsin Health Officials Continue to Watch the Avian Flu

Thursday, February 13th, 2025 -- 10:01 AM

(Joe Tarr, Wisconsin Public Radio) Although avian flu continues to spread among birds around the country, it has not yet established a foothold in humans.

According to Joe Tarr with Wisconsin Public Radio, that could change, says Peter Halfmann, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Pathobiological Sciences in the School of Veterinary Medicine.

The virus continues to mutate and has infected humans, cows, cats and other species. “There is no human-to-human transmission right now, which is a good thing,” Halfmann told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

“The one concern is that the virus likes to mutate.” “There was a case in British Columbia, Canada,” he continued, “where a teenager became infected. It was a long infection, over two weeks."

"And what scientists noticed was that the virus has started to mutate to like the human host a lot better… So that’s what we’re kind of watching out for.” Since 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 68 infections of the H5 flu virus in humans in the United States, including one death.

There’s also been at least one human case in Wisconsin, when a poultry farm worker in Barron County caught the disease. More than 150 million chickens nationwide have been infected since the beginning of 2022, according to the CDC.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection reported more than 73,000 farm birds have been infected with the virus in the past two months.

Halfmann explained to “Wisconsin Today” what scientists and health care professionals are watching for on farms, how the virus could mutate and what is being done to prevent its spread.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.