Health authorities are sounding the alarm over a potential uptick in bird flu cases as the winter holiday season approaches.

While the virus had remained largely unnoticed over the summer months, it has infected 70 individuals over the past year and claimed one life. Recently, it has resurged, affecting 7 million farmed birds across the country since the start of September.

This includes 1.3 million turkeys, which raises concerns about possible shortages as Thanksgiving nears.

Bird flu outbreaks often intensify in the fall as migratory birds like ducks, geese, and poultry move to avoid colder weather.

Recent data from the US Department of Agriculture reveal that the H5N1 virus has been found in wild birds across 33 states in the past month. Michigan leads with 54 wild bird flocks affected, trailed by Minnesota with 19, Colorado with 17, and Kansas with 16.

Moreover, outbreaks have also been detected in dairy cows in Idaho, Nebraska, and Texas.

However, CDC data trac king human cases, as well as animal outbreaks, is delayed amid the government shutdown, leaving exact case estimates unclear. 

The USDA has said it would use emergency funds to support bird flu surveillance during the shutdown, and the CDC said it has maintained several ‘essential’ staff members in case of an emergency.  

Bird flu is on the rise among birds like turkeys and chickens, health officials warn. Pictured above is a live poultry market in New York

Bird flu can be transmitted to humans through food, but properly cooking meats and pasteurizing dairy typically kills the virus. There is no current evidence of human-to-human transmission. 

Bernt Nelson, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, estimates prices of wholesale turkeys are already 40 percent higher than last year. 

‘Our turkey guys are getting hit pretty hard this fall,’ he told The New York Times. 

Bird flu has infected 180million farmed birds since 2022 and more than 1,000 herds of dairy cows since early 2024.

The majority of the 70 Americans sickened by H5N1 were farm workers exposed to infected animals. In January, person older than 65 with underlying health conditions became the first US bird flu death after they were hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms. 

While almost all patients had direct contact with infected birds or cattle, a patient in Missouri became the first to be infected without any exposure to these animals last year. 

It’s still unclear how that patient became ill. 

Health officials note that the risk of infection is still low for humans (stock image), Pictured above, a hazmat worker cleans a struck in a quarantine zone during a bird flu outbreak in Victoria, Australia, last year

Symptoms in humans include eye redness and irritation (conjunctivitis), mild fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches and fatigue, according to the CDC. 

In rare but severe cases, patients may suffer pneumonia, respiratory failure, kidney injuries, organ failure, sepsis and inflammation of the brain (meningoencephalitis).  

Richard Webby, an influenza expert at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, told The New York Times that H5N1 has ‘settled into a seasonal pattern.’

‘This is going to continue to be the new norm,’ he said. 

In addition to H5N1, Thanksgiving turkeys can harbor bacteria like salmonella and E. coli, which lead to bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. The USDA recommends cooking a until its internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill lingering bacteria.