The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has merged H5N1 bird flu updates with routine updates for seasonal influenza, the agency's website showed on Monday. The number of people monitored and tested for bird flu will be reported on a monthly basis,

Doctors and researchers said the moves will make it harder to detect potentially dangerous changes. If the virus continues to jump between species or the human case count grows, there’s a greater risk that it could mutate and become more easily transmissible between people,

The CDC has ended its H5N1 bird flu emergency response, but experts urge continued vigilance as the virus remains a threat through food, animals, and evolving zoonotic risks.