Three months into the U.S. bird flu outbreak, only 45 people have been tested. Laboratories that are the foundation of diagnostic testing have yet to get approval to detect the bird flu virus, blaming miscommunication and uncertainty from the CDC and FDA.

Bird flu snapshot: This is the first in a series of regular updates on H5N1 avian flu that STAT is publishing on Monday mornings. To read future updates you can also subscribe to STAT’s Morning Rounds newsletter.

A growing number of high-profile public health experts are raising alarms over what they say are lackluster efforts to track and contain the spread of bird flu across U.S. dairy farms. Why it matters: If this is a test of whether the U.

Dr Rick Bright, a virologist and former director at the Department of Health and Human Services, said that at the surface there appear to be few concerns - with only three Americans having tested positive after close contact with cattle.

Ever been confused by the names for bird flu, swine flu, Spanish flu H1N1 and the rest? Here’s what the numbers mean.