World

Tracking human cases of H5N6 bird flu

Published on

October 28, 2021

Micrograph of avian influenza, also known as bird flu (Credit: CDC/F.A. Murphy)

This article is updated when new cases are reported.

The table below shows confirmed cases of H5N6 bird flu in humans. The first confirmed case was reported in China’s Sichuan Province in May 2014 but cases remained low until a spike in late 2021. Only one human case has been reported outside China (in Laos in March 2021).

H5N6 bird flu is known to cause severe illness in humans of all ages and has killed nearly half of those infected. There are no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission but a 61-year-old woman who tested positive in July 2021 denied having contact with live poultry.

Reporting on H5N6 bird flu is limited. If you believe we have missed a case, please let us know by sending us an email at [email protected]. You can also reach us on Twitter by sending a DM to @BNODesk.

Definitions

Reported: The date on which the case is publicly reported. Due to lags in reporting, some cases may have occurred weeks or months earlier. Click the links for more information.