Has the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus been detected in migratory birds in the United States?
No. The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus has not yet been detected in wild birds or domestic poultry on the North American continent. Low pathogenic forms of H5 and H7 have occurred in both domestic and wild birds in North America and around the world for decades. Researchers do not know what causes a fairly benign H5 or H7 strain to change into a strain that is highly pathogenic. Should the HPAI H5N1 virus be detected in the United States, it does not signal the start of a human pandemic. Not until the HPAI H5N1 virus becomes easily transferred from person to person would a human pandemic begin.
