# H5N1 bird flu — NORMAL (stable)
id h5n1 · Global Health · horizon acute · checked 2026-11-01T11:52Z · at this level since 2026-10-31T11:26Z · stale after 2026-11-02T01:52Z
Assessed by an AI model (Anthropic Claude) against published rubrics; not a forecast or advice · CC BY 4.0 · https://canary.danleech.com/s/h5n1

Value: No human-to-human spread
Rated on: Sporadic animal-to-human cases only.

One human H5N1 case reported in the past month; no human spread

Why it's at this level: WHO's human–animal interface summary (7 Oct) recorded one human H5N1 infection between 7 Sep and 7 Oct, with no evidence of human-to-human transmission; Cambodia confirmed its sixth case of 2026 on 28 Sep. No new cluster was reported as of 1 Nov.

What this means for you: Risk to the public remains low. Avoid contact with sick or dead birds.

Why it matters: H5N1 is the flu strain scientists most fear could become a pandemic; it has spread to mammals and dairy cattle.
What moves it: Human cases, mammal-to-mammal spread, mutations, surveillance.

Rubric — Alert: Confirmed sustained human-to-human transmission. | Watch: Human clusters under investigation, rising human cases, or new mammalian species spread. | Normal: Sporadic animal-to-human cases only.

Sources:
- WHO — Influenza at the human-animal interface, 7 Oct 2026 (2026-10-07) https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/influenza-at-the-human-animal-interface-summary-and-assessment--7-october-2026
- CIDRAP — WHO reports H5N1 death among zoonotic flu cases (None) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/who-reports-h5n1-death-among-variant-zoonotic-flu-cases-seen-year