The influenza virus has existed for millions of years as an innocuous intestinal virus of wild ducks. What turned a harmless waterborne duck virus into a killer? In his classic book Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching, Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM, founder of NutritionFacts.org and New York Times Best-Selling author, traces the human role in the evolution of this virus, whose humble beginnings belie its transformation into a potentially deadly strain with the potential to become the next pandemic.
Visit h5n1book.org to read the full text of Dr. Greger’s Bird Flu for free. Given the latest bird flu cases and outbreaks in 2025, the urgency in understanding animal-to-human diseases, their history and causes, and how we may prevent their emergence is once again paramount.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, 14 years after his now-classic Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching was published, Dr. Greger dove once again into the research and released How to Survive a Pandemic, an updated and expanded book on infectious zoonotic diseases. Borrow it from your local public library or purchase a copy.