What is bird flu? Here’s everything you need to know about the virus affecting chickens and dairy cattle

• Bird flu has spread widely in poultry, causing egg shortages.
• Virus spillover has occurred in various mammal species, including humans.
• H5N1 does not currently have the ability to spread human to human.

It’s not just higher egg prices. The ongoing bird flu outbreak has led to millions of wild bird deaths, slaughtered livestock, hazardous conditions for dairy industry workers, and spillover infections in humans and other mammals.

While there’s no sign that H5N1 can be transmitted person to person at this point, some experts worry about the possibility of a pandemic if the virus continues to spread widely.

Here’s what you need to know about bird flu.