Q&A
Current statistics and response to bird flu (H5N1) in NYC
0:42:28
ยท
5 min
Dr. Michelle Morse provides an update on the current situation regarding bird flu (H5N1) in New York City, emphasizing the low risk to the general public and outlining the city's surveillance and response efforts.
- There is no evidence of person-to-person spread of H5N1, keeping the risk to the public very low
- Since 2022, 47 wild birds in NYC have been infected with H5N1, with 7 cases in 2025
- H5N1 has been spreading across the country since 2021 and has infected dairy cows as well
- NYC's public health surveillance system is actively monitoring H5N1 in wild birds, poultry, and dairy cows
- DOHMH coordinated with state authorities to close live bird markets as a preventive measure
Lynn Schulman
0:42:28
Okay, I just want to make one observation here or one comment is that I don't know if there are plans to try and facilitate better relationships or more intense relationships with the pharmaceutical companies around this issue that might help with some of this.
0:42:46
But anyway that aside, now I'm going to talk about the bird flu.
0:42:50
Can you provide current statistics for the number of birds, poultry infected by bird flu in New York City?
Dr. Michelle Morse
0:42:57
Absolutely.
0:42:58
I know that a lot of New York City public and council, you're getting lots of questions about bird flu, also known as H5N1.
0:43:08
I think the first thing I really want to say and emphasize to the public and to council is that there is no current evidence of person to person spread of bird flu, again also known as H5N1.
0:43:22
That is really reassuring.
0:43:24
And that means that the risk to the general public is very low right now.
0:43:30
And the reason that I start with that is because we want to make sure that the public knows that they are currently really at low risk of any infection with bird flu or h five n one.
0:43:44
So there's no person to person spread.
0:43:47
As you know, that's how COVID, for example, is transmitted is person to person spread.
0:43:51
We have no evidence of that for bird flu.
0:43:54
However, we are using our surveillance system, our public health surveillance system, to make sure we're aware of where bird flu is.
0:44:05
There is evidence, that h five n one or bird flu has actually been spreading across the country since 2021.
0:44:12
And since 2022, we're aware of 47 wild birds in New York City who were infected with H5N1.
0:44:23
Seven of those tests were in this year, 2025.
0:44:29
So knowing that there is widespread H5N1 in wild birds and also knowing that it has infected dairy cows as well, The national kind of public health surveillance system and our local New York City public health surveillance systems have worked together to monitor where is H5N1 infecting birds, wild birds, poultry and cows.
0:44:57
Our public health system and surveillance system is working exactly as it was designed.
0:45:02
It does require investments and funding of course, but it's intended to be kind of the canary in the coal mine.
0:45:09
We want to know if H5N1 is spreading in live birds here in New York City, and this surveillance system helps us to do that.
0:45:17
There's a similar system for testing milk of dairy cows to surveil for H5N1 there as well.
0:45:26
So those surveillance systems, again, are the lifeblood of public health.
0:45:31
They're going to be what alerts us to any changes and also the magnitude of spread of h five n one in wild birds and dairy cows.
0:45:40
But I want to emphasize again, the risk to the public is extremely low.
0:45:44
There is no evidence of person to person spread of bird flu or h five n one.
Lynn Schulman
0:45:50
What is what kind of support do you have from the state and what kind of coordination do you have in terms of the bird flu?
Dr. Michelle Morse
0:45:58
Thanks for that question.
0:46:00
And again, we just want to emphasize how important that kind of partnership and coordination is, bless you, especially in times like this.
0:46:09
So we're very lucky to have a great relationship with commissioner Doctor.
0:46:14
Jim McDonald, who's the New York State Health Department commissioner.
0:46:18
We collaborated when the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets issued an order a couple of weeks ago to close all the live bird markets in New York City and some of the surrounding counties.
0:46:32
It was great to be able to coordinate directly with them because then we could prepare the messaging for the public about how the closure of those live bird markets helps to protect the poultry excuse me, the poultry themselves as well as the workers who work in the poultry markets who are exposed to those birds.
0:46:52
And so the idea is, again, that was a preventive public health intervention to try to minimize, decrease, and cut off the spread of H5N1 across poultry in New York City and the surrounding counties.
0:47:07
So that coordination and collaboration was very useful because our role in the New York City Health Department was to actually contact all of those live poultry markets to make sure we spoke with the people managing the markets and the workers and we gave them guidance on how to monitor for symptoms in case they, because they were in close contact with the birds, in case they developed any symptoms, and what to do if they did.
0:47:35
We also offered all of those workers the opportunity to get treatment with Tamiflu even if they didn't have symptoms as a prophylactic measure.
0:47:44
And then we continue to work with all of those workers to make sure that their health, that they're aware of what can be done to protect their health and that they know to call us.
0:47:54
And we partner with health and hospitals to make sure that they can get what they need should they develop any symptoms or if they have any questions.
0:48:01
So again our role in the New York City Health Department is really protecting the humans, the people, the workers, and making sure that the public has the information they need to protect themselves.
0:48:12
But again, no to person spread is the most important message.