Health experts issue 'pandemic' warning over bird flu outbreak Experts said that there could be potential for a 'pandemic' Experts said that there could be potential for a 'pandemic' (Image: Getty Images ) Health experts have issued a 'pandemic' warning over a bird flu outbreak in the US. A H5N1 outbreak was detected in parts of the country. ‌ Officials launched a crackdown on farms, with almost 1,000 dairy cow herds affected. ‌ READ MORE: Midland dawn raids over alleged medicine trafficking in 'biggest of its kind' probe More than 70 cases have been detected in humans, including one recorded death. Experts from the Global Virus Network (GVN) warned the poultry industry was at major risk. Article continues below Dr Marc Johnson, a virologist at the University of Missouri, said the virus was 'trying really hard' to become a 'pandemic'. Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here. Richard Pebody, director of epidemic and emerging infections at UK Health Security Agency, previously said the virus was 'not new' and the risk to the public remained low. ‌ But its features have changed in recent years, Mirror reports. Speaking of new and emerging infections at the agency’s annual conference in Manchester in March, he said: "H5N1 has the potential to become a pandemic, a future pandemic. "And so that’s why we’re watching that so closely and managing it so closely." ‌ He added: "H5N1 is not new. It’s been around for quite a long while. It first popped up in the back in the 1990s, mid-1990s, but it’s waxed and waned over the years. "Over the past three or four years, its features have changed. "And so, we’re seeing it in the States, in dairy cattle, in other animal species, and we’re also seeing it here in the UK, and so we’re working very closely with colleagues on the animal health side to make sure that the human health side is protected." Article continues below He continued: "On the preparedness front, we do need to be prepared for the next emerging infection and indeed, the next pandemic." According to the NHS, bird flu is an infectious type of influenza which spreads among birds. In rare cases, it can affect humans through close contact with a dead or alive infected bird.