August 13, 2024- The CDC slightly raised its risk assessment of the H5N1 bird flu virus in an Aug. 9 update, noting it poses a future “potential public health risk,” according to the CDC and Becker’s Hospital Review. The update is based on a report using the agency’s Influenza Risk Assessment tool, which is used to evaluate the future pandemic potential posed by an influenza A virus. As part of the assessment, experts review data and score a virus based on the likelihood that it may gain the ability to spread easily from person to person, and the effect it may have on public health.
The virus’s future pandemic potential was scored at 5.79, placing it in the mid-low range of the “moderate risk” category (4.0-7.9). The update “indicates the virus has a moderate future potential pandemic risk when compared to other Influenza A viruses,” the CDC said, adding that the current risk it poses to public health remains low, according to the CDC and Becker’s Hospital Review.