logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
28m 8s

The rising threat of bird flu

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Jan 15
Why is Nasa sending people around the moon?
The space science world is buzzing. In the next few days, NASA is expected to begin the rollout of its Artemis II rocket to the launch pad with the launch itself expected as early as February. Science journalist Jonathan Amos explains why NASA is interested in travelling around t ... Show More
26m 29s
Jan 8
How rare are Greenland’s rare earth elements?
President Trump has his sights set on Greenland. If he succeeds, what mineral wealth will he find there? Adrian Finch, Professor of Geology at St Andrews University has been visiting Greenland for more than 3 decades and explains what so called ‘rare earth elements’ are found in ... Show More
26m 29s
Dec 18
How did President Trump transform science in 2025?
This week President Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget announced that a major climate research centre would be broken up. 2025 has brought a wave of reorganisations and funding cuts, reshaping the ways science is done in the USA. Veteran science journalist Ro ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2025
How Bird Flu Went from an Isolated Avian Illness to a Human Pandemic Threat (Part 1)
Bird flu outbreaks in poultry and cattle have caused concern for public health officials. There have been few reported cases of human transmission, but the growing risks of H5N1 avian influenza have virologists on alert. Researchers at the St. Jude Center of Excellence for Influe ... Show More
31m 17s
May 2025
Bird Flu: The Next Pandemic?
Bird flu has been in the headlines for ages, with scientists warning that we could be headed for a pandemic. But we’ve been hearing about this H5N1 virus for so long that it’s kind of starting to feel like the boy who cried wolf. So — what’s really going on with H5N1 bird flu? Ho ... Show More
42m 28s
Jul 2024
How worried should humans be about bird flu?
The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread from birds to dairy cattle in the United States where a number of agricultural workers have also been infected by it. This is thought to be the first time humans have caught the virus from another mammal and the first time the virus has been det ... Show More
23m 1s
Jun 2025
How to Fight Bird Flu If It Becomes the Next Human Pandemic (Part 3)
Creating a bird flu vaccine requires several layers of bioprotective clothing and typically a whole lot of eggs. H5N1 avian influenza infections have gone from flocks of chickens to herds of cattle and humans. Scientists at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute are taking their ... Show More
32m 51s
Jan 2025
The Latest On Bird Flu
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading among livestock and other mammals in the United States, raising concerns that another pandemic may be looming. Last month, California declared a state of emergency due to rising cases in dairy cattle, and there have been over 65 human ca ... Show More
13m 18s
Jun 2025
Bird Flu’s Jump to Cattle Took Dairy Farmers by Surprise (Part 2)
Dairy cattle have become an intermediary between avian influenza found in wild birds and the handful of recorded H5N1 bird flu cases in humans. Senior news reporter Meghan Bartels took a trip upstate to Cornell University’s Teaching Dairy Barn. Early last year Texas dairy farmers ... Show More
22m 58s
Jun 2024
Playing chicken with biohazards. Are humans at risk from bird flu?
Bird flu – or Avian flu – has been detected at a number of chicken farms in Victoria and NSW. The discovery comes in the wake of an outbreak in the US and tests that found humans had symptoms associated with bird flu. How safe is Australia’s poultry industry, and how safe are our ... Show More
19m 2s
Jan 2022
Omicron News, COVID Severity Questions, Bird Count. Jan 7 2022, Part 1
<p>Omicron Variant Drives Winter COVID Surge</p> <p>The United States set a global record this week, recording roughly one million new coronavirus tests in a single day. The current surge in cases is mostly driven by Omicron. The highly contagious variant accounted for about 95% ... Show More
47m 5s
Mar 2025
How Bird Flu Could Impact YOU: Virologist Explains the Risks, How to Protect Yourself, & Why Egg Prices are So High
When it comes to the bird flu, you are probably panicking about the wrong things! Understand the bird flu’s impact on wild birds, chickens, cows, cats, your grocery bill and whether or not your health is at risk.   Dr. Seema Lakdawala, a molecular virologist from Emory University ... Show More
1h 11m
Feb 2025
How Close Are We to Another Pandemic?
<p>An outbreak of bird flu has been tearing through the nation’s dairy farms and infecting more and more people.</p><p>Now there are troubling signs that the United States may be closer to another pandemic, even as President Trump dismantles the country’s public health system.</p ... Show More
25m 6s