The widening U.S. bird flu outbreak has made its way to Maryland, which has counted two cases on commercial poultry farms — one in Caroline County and another in Queen Anne’s County — since the start of the year.

Dr. John Goldman, a UPMC Infectious Disease Specialist, spoke about the severity of the bird flu and the possibility of a person transmitting the disease to another person. While a person getting the bird flu is rare,

Bird flu is a disease caused by avian influenza A viruses, according to the CDC. The virus mostly spreads between birds and dairy cows, but there have been 67 human cases of bird flu nationwide and one death tied to the infection since 2024, CDC records show.

The threat of bird flu in humans remains low unless they are dealing closely with cattle, poultry or wild birds.

Two months shy of the fifth anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic, the US has recorded its first human death as a result of avian influenza H5N1 infection. The unidentified Louisiana man contracted the virus through contact with infected wild and domestic birds on his property

NBC News Medical Contributor Dr. Kavita Patel speaks with Gadi Schwartz about the difference in symptoms between a cold and the flu and explains the CDC's urge for faster testing to find human bird flu cases.