The bird flu pandemic, potentially “100 times worse than COVID,” may be on the horizon after a rare human case was discovered in Texas. Since the discovery of a new strain in 2020, the H5N1 avian flu has spread quickly, impacting backyard flocks, commercial poultry, and wild birds in every state. However, the virus was recently discovered in mammals, infecting cow herds in four states. On Monday, federal health officials revealed that a dairy worker in Texas had contracted the virus.”
During a recent panel discussion, Suresh Kuchipudi, a Pittsburgh-based bird flu expert, stated that bird flu has been the most dangerous pandemic for many years, if not decades. John Fulton, the creator of Canada-based BioNiagara, also voiced his worries. “This appears to be 100 times worse than COVID,” he stated. “Once it’s mutated to infect humans, we can only hope the fatality rate drops. “The World Health Organization reports that 52% of people infected with H5N1 since 2003 have passed away, while less than 0.1% of people infected with COVID now die from the virus.
The bird flu shares many symptoms with other flu, such as fever, body pains, and cough. Some people may experience severe, perhaps fatal, pneumonia, while others may not show any symptoms at all. The only symptom recorded by the Texas dairy worker who had the infection was “eye redness with conjunctivitis,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The patient was told to isolate and is being treated with an antiviral drug for the flu” the CDC stated.
CDC Director Mandy Cohen states, “the entire US government is taking this situation very seriously. “Since the dairy worker had direct contact with infected cattle and the US Department of Agriculture has stated that there are currently no alterations that would make the virus more transmissible to people, she continued to claim that the virus does not pose much of a concern to the general public. The department stated over the weekend that “cases among humans in direct contact with infected animals are possible, but this indicates that the current risk to the public remains low.”
“If avian A [H5N1] influenza viruses acquire the ability to spread efficiently among humans, large-scale transmission could occur due to the lack of immune defenses against H5 viruses in humans,” stated the Food Safety Authority. The US is currently studying vaccine-making components to stop any potential virus spread, and two vaccine-candidate viruses are well-matched to defend against H5N1. Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, added that the Biden administration keeps an eye on the issue. “We take the health and safety of the American people seriously,” she declared at her briefing on Wednesday. “Maintaining the health, safety, and education of communities is our top priority,” stated the president, “and it is crucial.”
