Bird flu continues to infect animals and humans in the United States, with symptoms that some may struggle to discern from human influenza.
Scientists have already identified that the virus mutated inside the Louisiana patient who died, raising concerns that bird flu may mutate, evolve and change in future.
Current Bird Flu Symptoms
Currently, the symptoms of bird flu remain the same as before. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bird flu in humans can be asymptomatic, mild or severe.
People with bird flu may get pink eye (conjunctivitis), a cough, a sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue and fever.
In more severe cases, they may experience shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or even pneumonia that requires hospitalization.
Current Bird Flu Situation
The CDC has confirmed 67 total human cases of bird flu in the U.S. in the current 2024-2025 outbreak, including one person from Louisiana who died.
Another seven "probable" bird flu cases in humans have also been identified.
The CDC maintains that public health risk continues to be "low" as there has been no evidence of person-to-person transmission so far.
In all but three of the confirmed human cases, there was a clear exposure to an infected animal beforehand that made them sick, called a "spillover" infection.
Scientists have warned that the more chances the bird flu virus has to infect humans, the more likely it is to mutate to become transmissible between humans and cause a potential bird flu pandemic.
These mutations could also cause changes in symptoms, possibly making them more mild or more severe.
In the fatal Louisiana case, the virus was found to have mutated but only after the individual was infected, and the CDC has said there is "no evidence" that viruses with this mutation spread beyond this patient.
What Could Happen to Bird Flu in 2025?
What bird flu will look like throughout the rest of 2025 is purely speculative at this point.
Historically, bird flu used to result in severe symptoms with up to a 60 percent mortality rate.
However, most recent human cases of bird flu in the U.S. have resulted in only mild symptoms.
The CDC has said it is on the lookout for severe infections, as this could indicate the virus has changed.
"Severity of illness can be impacted by a number of factors, including acquired genetic changes of the virus, the amount of virus to which the infected people were exposed, the route of transmission, underlying health conditions, how long the person was sick and the timeliness of medical care/treatment, or some combination of all these factors," says the CDC's website.
People with increased risk of bird flu include farmers and those who work with infected animals or their byproducts, backyard bird flock owners, animal care workers such as veterinarians and animal health responders.
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