What to Know About the H5N1 Bird Flu

In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that avian influenza was detected in American dairy cattle. The following month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found traces of the H5N1 bird flu in the nation's commercial milk supply.

So far, the FDA has assessed that the milk is safe, considering that pasteurization has been effective at inactivating the virus, and the viral material found in the milk was not found to be infectious.

At this point, a Texas dairy worker is the one U.S. person who has tested positive for the virus. However, the situation with cows is serious enough that some infectious disease experts are wondering if the H5N1 bird flu has the potential to cause a pandemic-level outbreak.

You probably have questions, too.

Fortunately, SciCheck Staff Writer Kate Yandell has written a Q&A that answers several basic questions about the H5N1 bird flu, such as: How widespread is the virus in cows, and how likely is it to spread to humans?

For more, read Kate's "Q&A on H5N1 Bird Flu."

Reader: Has the stock market doubled in last four years?  

FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely: No. Over the last four years -- from May 7, 2020, through May 7, 2024 -- the S&P 500 has increased 80.1%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 62.9%; and the NASDAQ composite index, 18.8%. 

If you want to know how the market has performed under President Joe Biden, we provide that kind of information in our quarterly reports known as "Biden's Numbers." 

In our most recent report, "Biden's Numbers, April 2024 Update," we wrote that the S&P 500, which is made up of 500 large-cap companies, closed on April 25 at 5,048.42 —32.9% higher than what it was when Biden took office on Jan. 20, 2021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes 30 large corporations, has increased 23.1% under Biden, and the technology-heavy NASDAQ composite index was up 18.3% under Biden, closing at 15,611.76 on April 25.

By comparison, we wrote this in "Trump's Finals Numbers" after he left office on Jan. 20, 2021: 

On Jan. 19, 2021, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock average closed at 67.8% above where it had been the day before Trump was inaugurated in 2017. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, made up of 30 large corporations, was up 56.7% during Trump’s time in office.

And the NASDAQ composite index, made up of more than 3,000 companies, including many in the technology sector, more than doubled under Trump — up 138.2% since he took office.

Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "Tim Scott’s False and Misleading Claims About Unemployment": Republican Sen. Tim Scott has claimed that African Americans, Hispanics and Asians all had their lowest unemployment rate under former President Donald Trump. But the lowest unemployment rate on record for African Americans was under President Joe Biden, and the lowest unemployment rate for Hispanics was the same under both presidents.
   
• "Trump Plans to Attend Son’s Graduation and GOP Fundraiser, Contrary to Online Claim": While his criminal fraud trial is not in session on May 17, former President Donald Trump plans to attend the high school graduation of his son Barron in Florida as well as a campaign event in Minnesota. A post on Threads misleadingly claims he will “miss his son’s graduation for fundraiser.” The graduation is in the morning and the fundraising dinner in the evening.
   
• "Pro-Trump Super PAC Edits Biden’s Past Comment About Deportations": A TV ad from a super PAC supporting former President Donald Trump features a clip of President Joe Biden only saying “nobody is going to be deported,” falsely suggesting that Biden promised his administration would never deport anyone who entered the U.S. illegally.
   
• "Threads Post Distorts Trump’s Remarks on Iron Dome for U.S.": At a campaign rally in Michigan, former President Donald Trump promised to build an Iron Dome missile defense system for the U.S. that would serve as “a shield around our country.” A post on Threads falsely claimed Trump said the system would be used to “‘defend us’ from Canada.”
   
• "Trump’s Bogus Attack on FBI Crime Statistics": Former President Donald Trump said FBI data that show homicides and other violent crimes trending down are “fake numbers.” They’re not.

• "No existen pruebas de que la vacunación contra el COVID-19 aumente el riesgo de cáncer, a pesar de publicaciones": No se ha demostrado que las vacunas contra el COVID-19 causen o aceleren el cáncer. Sin embargo, quienes se oponen a las vacunas dicen que un nuevo artículo de revisión “ha descubierto que las vacunas de ARNm contra el COVID-19 podrían ayudar al desarrollo del cáncer”. Las conclusiones de la revisión se basan principalmente en la interpretación errónea de un estudio sobre vacunas de ARNm contra el cáncer en ratones.
   
• "El infundado ataque de Trump a las estadísticas de crimen del FBI": El expresidente Donald Trump dijo que los datos del FBI que muestran una tendencia a la baja en homicidios y otros crímenes violentos son “cifras falsas”. No lo son.
   
• "Preguntas y respuestas sobre la reducción del riesgo de COVID-19 en ancianos y personas inmunodeprimidas": Aunque los riesgos asociados al COVID-19 han disminuido en general con el tiempo debido a la exposición previa a las vacunas y al virus, algunas personas siguen teniendo un riesgo elevado, como los ancianos y las personas inmunodeprimidas. Las vacunas actualizadas contra el COVID-19 y, en algunos casos, un nuevo anticuerpo monoclonal, pueden proporcionar una mayor protección a este grupo.