The H5 avian bird flu has made its way to the United States with an uptick in cases amongst both animals and humans in January, 2025. With cases increasing, just how worried do you need to be about the bird flu affecting your next trip to Walt Disney World? The current answer may surprise you.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, this current iteration of the bird flu has caused infections in humans that have “ranged in severity from no symptoms or mild illness (e.g., eye infection, upper respiratory symptoms) to severe disease (e.g., pneumonia) that resulted in death.” As of January 9th, 2025, there have been 66 confirmed human cases in the United States, including one fatality. The agency goes on to clarify that these “human infections with avian influenza viruses have most often occurred after close or lengthy unprotected contact (i.e., not wearing gloves or respiratory protection or eye protection) with infected birds or places that sick birds or their saliva, mucous and feces have touched.”
While these dangers are real, the CDC says that the current threat level to the general public is low due to the rarity of human-to-human transmission. According to the agency, “No known person-to-person spread has occurred with the contemporary avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses currently circulating in birds in the United States and globally.”
This lack of person-to-person transmission makes the risk of bird flu at a major tourist destination like Disney World quite low under the current circumstances. That said, the CDC says they’re monitoring the situation and using their flu surveillance systems to monitor for H5 bird flu activity in people.
While the danger level is currently low for humans, there are still precautions that can be taken if you’re working with animals, including wearing PPE and a respirator.
While the current strain of bird flu is a major news story right now and certainly a major risk to anyone who works directly with poultry and other animals, it’s currently not a major risk for those visiting Disney World. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on bird flu and the CDC’s response.
Your 2025 Disney World Trip Is Going To Look DIFFERENT — But Not for the Reason You Think
Join the AllEars.net Newsletter to stay on top of ALL the breaking Disney News! You'll also get access to AllEars tips, reviews, trivia, and MORE! Click here to Subscribe!
What are your thoughts on the bird flu? Let us know in the comments below.
It’s just going to make the price of eggs go through the roof for a while.