RAPID: Evolving risk dynamics between stakeholders during the H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle

The 2024 outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza in U.S. dairy cattle across multiple states represents a significant shift as this virus historically has affected mainly wild and domestic birds, not cows. These outbreaks are continuing to occur, posing risks to both human health and the stability of the dairy industry. Because the current scientific understanding of how the virus transmits in this new host is not fully known, designing effective guidelines or rules to control the spread of H5N1 is difficult. Such scientific understanding is critical for developing federal and state decisions, but also in guiding the actions by non-governmental stakeholders to mitigate risk. These decisions and actions are shaped by H5N1 information, risk perceptions, and understanding of the causes of the problem. This project enhances national health interests by investigating how different stakeholders, from government officials to the general public, use and perceive information about H5N1. The insights gained from this research help guide better communication and decision making for safeguarding public and animal health. This proposal seeks to understand what information informs decisions at the federal and state levels and compare this to the information guiding veterinarians and the U.S. public in their risk perceptions and decision making. This project integrates interviews of federal and state human and animal health officials, panel surveys of accredited veterinarians, and the general public, to capture changes within and among stakeholder groups in information use, risk perceptions, and decisions over time. The research provides a unique opportunity to systematically assess how well-aligned these risk dimensions are across different stakeholder levels, providing a comprehensive perspective of how evolving and competing concerns influence the management of this crisis. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.