The Bird Flu: A Reminder of What Can Come

Cayden Tran ’28

Victoria Kenton ’25

When it comes to diseases, zoonotic ones remain in the back of many heads. It’s not as deadly as ebola, contagious as the common cold, or chaotic as COVID, but the message stands clear. The bird flu affects everybody indirectly or directly, even on the Island.

While cases in the United States remain low (60s), the bird flu has mutated from a disease spread primarily by wild animals to becoming the next possible outbreak and a human hazard. The recalling of raw milk throughout the country has taken the news by storm, and out of the few cases that have happened, three people have already been hospitalized and one has died. While the bird flu should not cause widespread public panic, the virus has already established itself, with the government directly taking measures, such as screening cattle and providing protective gear for workers. 

Yet problems that harm humans lie not only in direct contact but in the overarching environment in its entirety. More than a hundred million chickens have been killed, and wild animals, house pets, and even those in zoos are not spared. Humanity has seen the effects of this, with egg shortages becoming common, spiking nearly 20% in one month. And while the scrambled eggs on Loomis have not been taken off the menu, in such a diverse community, the bird flu has affected everybody, no matter the demographic. And yet, unlike other contagious diseases, the bird flu seems unstoppable by humans. After all, how can humans prevent birds from meeting cows, if that is the interactions nature has intended? 

Studies have shown that humans play more of a part in these “natural” interactions than many think, and the overall foundation remains consistent with many other problems in today’s world: climate change. Zoonotic diseases, especially the bird flu, thrive off the “abnormal”. Abnormal migration habits, abnormal transmission cycles, and abnormal survival outside of a host. All these factors directly impact how the bird flu travels between animals, and humans have only now started to feel the effects of the recent outbreak. By indirectly affecting these animals, humans have placed themselves in a position to brace themselves against nature.

Just like hurricanes, tornadoes, coastline flooding, and wildfires, the Bird Flu ghosts natural disasters, holding the same ideas that without understanding the environment, without supporting the environment, and without learning more about the environment, humans place themselves at an established disadvantaged during times of crisis and outbreak.

References:

CDC. “First H5 Bird Flu Death Reported in United States.” CDC Newsroom, 6 Jan. 2025, www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2025/m0106-h5-birdflu-death.html.

Gilbert, M, et al. “Climate Change and Avian Influenza.” Revue Scientifique et Technique (International Office of Epizootics), vol. 27, no. 2, Aug. 2008, p. 459, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2709837/.