Virologists fear the United States is inching closer to becoming ground zero for an H5N1 contagion

Maeve Cullinan

Global Health Security Reporter

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Maeve Cullinan is a reporter for The Telegraph’s Global Health Security desk. She covers issues including disease outbreaks, conflict, global development, humanitarian crises, and sexual violence and has reported from Africa and Asia. She was named on the Press 30 under 30 list in 2025.

Published 05 November 2026 6:00am GMT

America is closer than ever to harbouring the next flu pandemic, leading experts have warned.

H5N1, the avian flu that has decimated bird populations worldwide, is spreading through US cattle herds, raging on one of the country’s largest mink farms and, in the past few weeks, has infected three people in Washington state, one of whom has died .

The new cases bring the total number of people in the US infected with H5N1 since 2022 to 75.…