The H5N1 avian influenza outbreak continues to spread at an alarming rate in the United States as the virus ― which initially infected mostly birds ― adapts to new hosts like cows and cats.

More than 23 million birds have been infected in just the month of January, according to a U.S. agriculture department report. As of February, there have been at least 69 people in the U.S. infected with H5N1 and one death since 2024.

“We’re more concerned even than usual, because this bird flu already has developed the genetic capacity to get into a number of other mammals: seals, mink, foxes, cats and most prominently, and unexpectedly ... into dairy cattle,” said William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine in the department of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, citing how a new bird flu strain started infecting dairy herds last year.

Could the bird flu virus quickly evolve into a human pandemic?

Infectious disease experts who are vigilantly following the bird flu’s evolution shared their thoughts on how worried the general public should be right now and what you could do now to prepare. Here’s what you need to know:

Bird flu does not spread human-to-human yet, but that could change rapidly.

The good news is that variants of H5N1 have been around since the 1990s and it has yet to evolve into a strain that could cause a human pandemic. That’s because of how the virus is currently spreading, experts said.

To date, there are no reports of sustained human-to-human transmission associated with the current avian influenza strains circulating in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control.

A majority of cases have been in farm workers. Schaffner said unless you work closely with dairy cattle or with poultry like chickens, your risk of catching bird flu right at this moment is “essentially zero.”

Thomas Russo, chief of the infectious disease division at the University at Buffalo, said there is not “grounds for panic” yet for a human pandemic because of the virus’ current inefficiencies. He noted that the bird flu infections in humans have occurred primarily in individuals that have had close contact with poultry or dairy cows.

H5N1 “does not efficiently infect humans, you need a more prolonged contact, probably a much higher dose,” he said. “And equally importantly, if not more importantly, those individuals that get infected, it doesn’t transmit well from human to human.”

But this does not mean the threat of a bird flu pandemic could not happen in the near future. “It may never be able to do it, but we don’t want to rule out that possibility,” Russo said.

Experts said the avian influenza virus’ ability to infect so many different mammals ― including us ― is worrisome. Because the virus is now infecting multiple hosts simultaneously and continuously, “this virus is now demonstrating some of those hallmarks of a potential public health threat,” said Suresh Kuchipudi, a veterinarian and chair of the infectious diseases and microbiology department at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.

“Each time it gets into a new host, that could accelerate the changes in the virus for adaptation,” Kuchipudi continued. “The more frequently that happens, the chances of the virus ... learning the skill of infecting that host becomes higher.”

Sustained human-to-human transmission could just take the virus “one or two” mutations and “could happen anytime,” Kuchipudi said.

In one worst-case scenario, an animal like a pig could be infected both with bird flu and with human flu, and learn how to spread the virus better in what is known as “recombination,” Schaffner said.

And on top of the virus’ uncertain evolution, the federal public health infrastructure that is necessary for fighting against pandemics is also facing an uncertain future.

In January, President Donald Trump announced he was pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, which coordinates global responses to pandemics. Health officials working on the bird flu outbreak were also fired this month as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts, although the U.S. Department of Agriculture later said it is working to reverse these firings.

Schaffner said reducing the public health workforce is “concerning, because if anything, we ought to be doing perhaps even more regarding surveillance, we want an even more elaborate, a more intense radar system out there looking at unusual cases of influenza and sending those specimens to the laboratory.”

There are some actions you can take right now to prepare against bird flu, experts said.

Again, the chance of an average person who is not working on a farm getting sick is currently low. But if you want to know some ways to minimize the virus, there are a few lifestyle changes to consider if they’re relevant to you.

If you’re a cat owner, bring your pet inside. Cats enjoy chasing and eating birds, and are highly vulnerable to bird flu.

Kuchipudi co-authored a December study on 10 outdoor domestic cats who died of H5N1 in South Dakota and had bird feathers found near them, indicating that the cats ate the virus-infected birds. If you notice any bird virus symptoms in cats ― which include appetite loss, lethargy, tremors, seizures ― you should immediately take your cat to a vet, so they can test your pet’s urine for the virus.

Every infectious disease expert advised against letting you or your pet consume raw milk, because bird flu virus has been detected in it. But feel free to keep drinking pasteurized milk. By heating milk to a specific temperature over time, pasteurized milk kills potential viruses like H5N1 and continues to be safe to drink.

And when in doubt about your bird flu exposure, it helps to fall back on simple hygiene practices. It is believed that dairy workers got the H5N1 virus through infected milk splatters and “touching infected milking equipment and then rubbing their eyes,” Russo said.

To combat this, personal protective equipment, such as high-quality, well-fitting masks, eye protection and gloves should be used when in contact with animals known to carry the virus. For example, if you feed wild birds, use gloves, and if you see a dead bird, be cautious.

“I would not come in contact with a dead bird,” said Jodie Guest, a senior vice chair of the epidemiology department at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. “If I were to see it ... unless I had gloves on and some form of protection, I would not want to pick it up.”

“When you handle or touch an animal, washing hands can be a very simple, very effective means of reducing the risk of transmission,” Kuchipudi said.