--- title: Should I Worry About Catching the Bird Flu? description: A second U.S. dairy worker has tested positive for avian influenza. Is bird flu spreading among humans—and will it in the future? canonical: https://time.com/6981144/can-i-get-bird-flu/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-05-23T18:50:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:40:01.375Z article:section: Health og:title: Should I Worry About Catching the Bird Flu? og:description: Here's what to know. og:url: https://time.com/6981144/can-i-get-bird-flu/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0973acc942646815/698a5723db29872afb26bb07/dairy-farm.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: A U.S. dairy farm og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Should I Worry About Catching the Bird Flu? twitter:description: Here's what to know. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0973acc942646815/698a5723db29872afb26bb07/dairy-farm.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Should I Worry About Catching the Bird Flu? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5ccd38d5-5769-4a41-99bf-22020ea70258&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5ccd38d5-5769-4a41-99bf-22020ea70258&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=5ccd38d5-5769-4a41-99bf-22020ea70258&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. May 23, 2024 6:50 PM UTC  Workers perform milking operations in a dairy parlor in California. Workers perform milking operations in a dairy parlor in California. Ed Young /Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. May 23, 2024 6:50 PM UTC A second farmworker in the U.S. has tested positive for bird flu, public health officials from the patient’s home state of Michigan [announced May 22](https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside-mdhhs/newsroom/2024/05/22/influenza-a-detection). During a press conference, health officials said the case was “not unexpected,” given the ongoing spread of avian influenza among birds and mammals in the U.S., and that risk to the general public remains low. But the case raises the question: is [human-to-human transmission](https://time.com/6254312/avian-flu-pandemic-mutations/) of bird flu a serious concern? Not at this point, according to Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “We have not seen evidence of other cases in this area or elsewhere in any of our monitoring systems, let alone any evidence of human-to-human transmission,” Shah said during the May 22 press briefing. “This is reassuring.” “Risk is incredibly low right now,” agrees Andrew Pekosz, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “There is no real evidence of spread from human to human.” Avian influenza has been spreading widely among birds around the world in recent years, affecting [nearly 91 million in the U.S. since January 2022](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/data-map-commercial.html). The virus has also affected mammals, infecting cows, goats, cats, and more in the U.S. alone. So far, two human infections in the country—[one in Texas in April](https://time.com/6962418/bird-flu-human-case-us/), and the new one in Michigan—have been detected in people working on dairy farms where there are infected cows. Both individuals reportedly experienced only mild conjunctivitis-like eye symptoms, then recovered. The person in Michigan tested negative on a nasal swab but positive on an eye swab, [according to the CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/s0522-human-case-h5.html). That’s a promising sign, Shah said during the press briefing, because it suggests the virus is not spreading like a traditional respiratory virus. The seasonal influenza virus, for example, takes root in the upper airways, which is why a sick person can spew potentially infectious respiratory particles when they cough or sneeze. The avian influenza virus, by contrast, attaches to a type of receptor that is common in animals and birds and is also found in the human eye, but that is not prevalent in the human respiratory tract, explains Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “Where I’d get concerned is if we see genetic changes that allow this virus to \[easily\] attach to the respiratory tract cells of a human,” Osterholm says. It’s possible, he says, that the virus could eventually change in a way that allows it to do that, but “we’re not seeing that at all yet.” **Read More**: [_Is COVID-19 Still a Pandemic?_](https://time.com/6898943/is-covid-19-still-pandemic-2024/) To answer questions about potential risks to humans, it’s important to better understand how the virus is spreading among cows, Pekosz says. If it’s spreading mostly through exposure to contaminated milking equipment, for example, “that’s probably not relevant to how the virus would spread in humans,” he says. That research remains ongoing, as does genetic analysis of the viral sample taken from the patient in Michigan. Public-health officials are still taking precautions to reduce the chances of continued spread. Health care workers in Michigan are carrying out contract tracing and distributing influenza antivirals to people close to the infected person, Shah said during the press briefing. A spokesperson from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services declined to provide additional details. In April, [the Texas patient was told to isolate](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0401-avian-flu.html) from others and was treated with antivirals. They were also given antivirals to distribute to people in their household, according to a spokesperson from the Texas Department of State Health Services. “There has been no evidence of onward spread among people so the risk to the general public is low,” the spokesperson added. The CDC also recently [urged states and cities](https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/21/h5n1-bird-flu-cdc-urges-summer-flu-surveillance/) to keep their influenza surveillance efforts at peak-season levels to catch any signs of increased transmission. And the federal government is prepping nearly 5 million vaccine doses in case they need to be distributed quickly, officials said on the press call. Measures like extra surveillance are precautionary, not reason for alarm, Pekosz says. “It’s preventive,” he says. “It’s trying to understand what’s happening so far—it’s not because we’re seeing evidence” of human transmission. Public-health officials also said during the press briefing that while the risk to the general public remains low, farmworkers have been told to take additional safety precautions, such as wearing personal protective equipment around sick or potentially infected animals. But the average person doesn’t need to do much at this point, Pekosz says. [The most important preventive measure](https://time.com/6963860/bird-flu-eggs-chicken-food-safety/) most people can take is avoiding raw milk, which is not treated to remove viruses. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6981144/can-i-get-bird-flu/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6981144/can-i-get-bird-flu/"},"headline":"Should I Worry About Catching the Bird Flu?","datePublished":"2024-05-23T18:50:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:40:01.375Z","description":"Here's what to know.","url":"https://time.com/6981144/can-i-get-bird-flu/","keywords":["Disease","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0973acc942646815/698a5723db29872afb26bb07/dairy-farm.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0973acc942646815/698a5723db29872afb26bb07/dairy-farm.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A U.S. dairy farm","caption":"A U.S. dairy farm","creditText":"Ed Young /Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/disease/","name":"Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6981144/can-i-get-bird-flu/","name":"Should I Worry About Catching the Bird Flu?"}}]}] ```