H5N1 Avian Flu Spreads Globally: Urgent Challenges for Animal Health, Human Safety, and International Cooperation

H5N1 avian influenza has become a truly global animal health crisis with significant human, economic, and political implications. The virus, especially the clade 2.3.4.4b strain, now affects birds and some mammals on multiple continents, driving concerns about food security, livelihoods, and the risk of rare but severe human infections.

Across the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization reports thousands of H5N1 outbreaks in poultry and wild birds since 2022, plus growing detection in mammals such as sea lions and dairy cattle, while human infections remain sporadic and mainly linked to direct contact with infected animals. In Europe...