As a new virus takes center stage at the heart of a global outbreak, it’s easy to get flashbacks of March 2020.

Now more than four years after the world was rocked by a pandemic, H5N1, or avian or bird flu, has exploded in bird and livestock populations, and at least one human case has been confirmed by health officials.

This isn’t the first time.

There have been major outbreaks around the world in the recent past, including four from 2014 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So what makes this time different, and at what point should you be concerned?

Here are five things you should know about bird flu.

What type of virus is it and how does it spread?

H5N1 comes from a group of four flu, or influenza, viruses: A, B, C and D. The strain called bird flu is an influenza A virus and gets its name because wild birds such as gulls, ducks geese and other waterfowl act as hosts for the virus.

Avian influenza is considered either low pathogenic (LPAI) or highly pathogenic (HPAI), determined by how serious the infection is, according to the CDC.

Most avian influenza cases are low pathogenic, causing only a few infections. Sometimes, however, the LPAI can mutate and become a HPAI.

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