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Podcast: Science Quickly
Episode: How Bird Flu Went from an Isolated Avian Illness to a Human Pandemic Threat (Part 1)
Description: Bird flu outbreaks in poultry and cattle have caused concern for public health officials. There have been few reported cases of human transmission, but the growing risks of H5N1 avian influenza have virologists on alert.
Researchers at the St. Jude Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response take an annual visit to Delaware Bay to collect samples of bird poop for analysis. These samples give the researchers a look at emerging avian illnesses. While spillover of H5N1 into domestic birds has been known for a while, the first case of spillover...