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Humans are able to catch bird/ avian flu.

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in General Factchecking by Newbie (390 points)
A new study finds tweaking part of the H5N1 virus infecting dairy cows in a single spot could allow it to better attach to human cell receptors, raising concerns it could transmit more easily between people.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bird-flu-virus-is-one-mutation-away-from-adapting-to-human-cells/

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by Novice (550 points)

True -- https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/influenza/maineflu/avian-flu.shtml#:~:text=Human%20infections%20with%20avian%20flu%20viruses%20occur%20most%20often%20in,Flu%20to%20People%20(PDF).

"Human infections with avian flu viruses occur most often in people who have close contact with infected poultry or wild birds.

Infected birds have avian flu virus in their saliva, mucous, and feces. Humans can have contact with avian flu virus when a person touches a surface with virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. The virus can also be inhaled from droplets or dust in the air.

The spread of avian flu virus from one infected person to another is very rare. When it happens, it usually only spreads to a few people. However, since avian flu can cause severe symptoms in some people, monitoring for human infection and preventing the spread of avian flu is very important."

True
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ago by Newbie (300 points)

The claim posted here appears to be true. The provided article states that the H5N1 virus that affects dairy cows has the ability to adapt to humans if it can adapt to the receptor proteins on human cells. At the cell biology level, there are more specific actions that a bird flu virus needs to take in order for this to happen. An article from News Medical Life Sciences goes into such details- with the virus replicating itself multiple times via using it's two polymerases and a host cell protein (ANP32). However, parts of this host cell protein is not identical in birds and humans- so the virus's mutation from bird to human is not a one for one transcription and/or translation. For now, it is best to be aware and educated of bird flu, but to know that this mutation of the virus isn't exactly easy as one might think. 

Source: 

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20240819/Study-reveals-how-avian-flu-adapts-to-mammalian-cells.aspx

True

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