H7N9 Bird Flu is Still Around

Have you forgotten about bird flu? Well, don't, because it's still around. In fact the 2017 flu season was the worst ever, according to the CDC. From Oct. 2016 to the summer of 2017, the H7N9 strain of bird flu infected 759 people. About a third of them - 281 people - died. That's nearly as many as the total number of deaths in the four previous years combined.

CDC officials consider H7N9 to "the influenza virus with the highest potential pandemic risk", according to a weekly report from the agency. Fortunately, the virus has not yet evolved to be easily transmitted between humans; nearly all cases to date have been the result of contact with infected birds. But if the virus ever does mutate to become more easily transmissible between humans, watch out!

Health officials continue to monitor the virus closely for any signs that it is changing in ways that would make it a worldwide threat. But so far, all cases have been in China, Hong Kong, and Macao.