“We are getting dangerously close to this virus potentially causing a pandemic."
Health officials have sounded the alarm about a potential bird flu pandemic, cautioning that it could be "100 times worse than COVID," after a rare human case was reported in Texas.
The emergence of a new strain of H5N1 avian flu, initially detected in 2020 and affecting birds nationwide, including both commercial poultry and backyard flocks, has raised concerns in recent days. Recent developments indicate that the virus has spread to mammals, with cattle herds in four states becoming infected, according to the Daily Mail. This transition increases the likelihood of the virus becoming more transmissible.
A White House representative confirmed that the administration is closely monitoring the situation regarding the bird flu in the country.
The individual who tested positive for the H5N1 virus in Texas is reported to be a dairy farm worker. Medical testing on the patient revealed that the virus has mutated to become more easily transmissible. However, the CDC said this mutation had been recorded before, but there was no sign of human-to-human transmission, therefore the risk was low at this time.
During a briefing on the bird flu, Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, a bird flu researcher, expressed concerns, stating, “This virus [has been] on the top of the pandemic list for many, many years and probably decades.”
“We are getting dangerously close to this virus potentially causing a pandemic,” he cautioned.
Kuchipudi emphasized the severity of the new strain, suggesting that the bird flu could be "100 times worse than COVID" if it mutates while maintaining its high case fatality rate. However, he expressed hope that the fatality rate may decrease once the virus has fully adapted to infect humans.
“Once it’s mutated to infect humans, we can only hope that the [fatality rate] drops,” Kuchipudi said.
According to the World Health Organization, the fatality rate for H5N is estimated at 52%, with over 460 recorded deaths since 2003 and 887 diagnosed cases.
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