Bird flu, also known as avian influenza or H5N1, has infected more than 130 million birds over the past two years as it threatened commercial bird operations and recently led to the first human death in the United States.

The first human death from H5N1 in the United States is an event of historical significance, laying bare the destructive policies of the ruling class to the public’s health.

Outside the United States, more than 950 cases of H5N1 bird flu have been reported to the World Health Organization; about half of those have resulted in death, the CDC noted.