Preview: Is Bird Flu Back? With guest Dr. Angela Rasmussen. (Yes, we managed to book her again 🙌)
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Influenza A virus subtype H5N1
15 min read
The article discusses H5N1 and H5N5 bird flu strains. Understanding the specific virology, transmission patterns, and pandemic potential of H5N1 provides essential context for why experts are concerned about these cases.
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One Health
14 min read
Dr. Rasmussen explicitly mentions One Health as an area of expertise. This interdisciplinary approach linking human, animal, and environmental health is central to understanding why bird flu jumping to humans is a public health concern.
For the last several months, reports about bird flu have been quiet, with long stretches without any known human cases in the US. Our lucky streak is over. In the first human bird flu case in the US since February, an older adult in Washington state was hospitalized with H5N5, a strain health officials said had not previously been identified in people. In total, the US has reported 71 human bird flu cases and one death since 2024.
Some vaccine development is underway. In a phase I trial, an intranasal recombinant influenza vaccine appeared to safely prompt a robust response to a range of H5N1 clades. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled $500 million in funding mRNA vaccine development, a move experts have called “reckless,” especially with the looming threat of bird flu.
What should healthcare professionals take away from this? In an Instagram Live, Dr. Angela Rasmussen (virologist at the University of Saskatchewan, @drangierasmussen) and I will break down what this latest case of bird flu signals, how clinicians can protect patients, and what to watch for next.
Note: If you saw the Live that Dr. Rasmussen and I did on Wednesday on overall pandemic preparedness, you know how lucky we are to have another chance to have access to her level of expertise on yet another important topic! (I’ll post the recording from that session this weekend, and the IG live we are doing today will be posted next week, for those who can’t join us in realtime.)
How do I join? Follow @medpage on Instagram!
When is the event? Tune in Friday, Nov. 21 at 11 a.m. ET
Submit your questions in the Comments below.
Related articles:
Intranasal Vaccine Shows Promise Against Bird Flu in Early Trialopens in a new tab or window
Pulling the Plug on mRNA Vaccine Development Is ‘Reckless,’ Experts Sayopens in a new tab or window
Washington Resident Is Infected With a Different Type of Bird Flu
About Dr. Rasmussen
Here’s a partial bio of Dr. Angela Rasmussen, in her own words, taken from her Substack:
...I have a BA from Smith College, slung T cells at an immunotherapy startup for a few years after I graduated, got my PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Columbia University in 2009 studying rhinovirus, did my postdoc at the University of Washington studying hepatitis C virus, and had faculty positions
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