Almost 6 in 10 Americans who identify as Republican do not trust the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide reliable information on H5N1 bird flu, according to a new poll from health care nonprofit KFF.
The CDC has confirmed 70 cases of the virus in humans since 2022, with one person dying from a severe form of the disease in January.
Officials say the virus’s health risk to most people remains low, but public health researchers are concerned about the virus and its mutations
About 6 in 10 adults regardless of political affiliation said they trust the CDC is providing accurate information about the virus, the poll found. Democratic-leaning survey participants and those who identified as independents were more likely to trust the agency’s information, compared with Republicans.
When asked by the survey how much they trust the CDC to provide reliable information about bird flu, 18 percent of adults who identify as Republican said “not at all” and 39 percent replied “not much.”
When asked the same thing, 9 percent of Democratic-leaning survey respondents said “not at all” and 19 percent said “not much.”
Meanwhile, a combined 27 percent of American adults who identify as independents responded “not at all” or “not much” when asked how much they trust the CDC’s information on bird flu.
The poll also found that most Americans are unaware of what the official recommendations are for preventing the spread of bird flu.
The agency recommends avoiding contact with sick or dead animals and not consuming raw milk or raw milk products, especially if they come from an animal that had or is suspected of having bird flu.
About 4 in 10 adults know that they should avoid close contact with sick animals to minimize their risk of contracting bird flu, and 30 percent know they should not consume raw milk or raw milk products. But half of adults are unsure if these measures are official recommendations from the CDC, according to the poll.
The nearly 4,000-person survey was conducted Feb. 18-25 online and by telephone.
