H5N1 Bird Flu Continues Global Spread: Scientists Warn of Potential Pandemic Risk in Ongoing Animal Health Crisis
Published: January 9, 2026
Duration: 4:23
This is Bird Flu Bulletin: Daily H5N1 Update for Friday, January 9, 2026.
Top stories:
First, global animal outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 remain intense. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s latest situation update from late December reports more than 2,500 recent avian influenza outbreaks in animals across 43 countries, over 2,000 of them due to H5N1, underscoring sustained, widespread circulation in birds and some mammals worldwide.
Second, regional data from the Pan American Health Organization show that H5N1 continues to circulate across the Americas, with 75 human infections and two deaths reported since 2022, and mo...
Top stories:
First, global animal outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 remain intense. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s latest situation update from late December reports more than 2,500 recent avian influenza outbreaks in animals across 43 countries, over 2,000 of them due to H5N1, underscoring sustained, widespread circulation in birds and some mammals worldwide.
Second, regional data from the Pan American Health Organization show that H5N1 continues to circulate across the Americas, with 75 human infections and two deaths reported since 2022, and mo...