Story at a glance

• Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield says it's just a question of when, not if, there's a bird flu pandemic.

• In the last two years, bird flu has been blamed for the deaths of millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide.

• Redfield told NewsNation's Brian Entin on Friday that he believes "bird flu will enter humans" and that it could have "significant mortality."

(NewsNation) — Is a bird flu pandemic imminent? Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield seems to think so, he says it’s just a matter of when that will be.

In the last two years, bird flu has been blamed for the deaths of millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide. However, it seems to have hardly touched people.

Redfield told NewsNation's Brian Entin on Friday that he believes "bird flu will enter humans" and that it could have "significant mortality."

He also discussed the growing concern for bird flu, as the virus has been detected in dozens of cattle across the country, and the World Health Organization identified the first human death in Mexico.

“I really do think it’s very likely that we will, at some time, it’s not a question of if, it’s more of a question of when we will have a bird flu pandemic,” Redfield said.

He also noted that bird flu has a “significant mortality” when it enters humans compared to COVID-19. Redfield predicts the mortality is “probably somewhere between 25 and 50% mortality.” NewsNation noted that the death rate for COVID-19 was 0.6%.

What is bird flu and how does it spread?

Avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, is an infection from a type of influenza virus that usually spreads in birds and other animals, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The virus usually spreads in birds but........

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