Bird flu pandemic could be 100 times more lethal than COVID-19

Bird flu pandemic may be 100 times more deadly than COVID-19

Summary: Experts warn that a bird flu pandemic may be coming and could be 100 times worse than COVID-19. According to the World Health Organization, the human mortality rate may be as high as over 50%. By comparison, COVID-19 currently kills less than 0.1% of those infected.

Keywords: COVID-19, avian influenza, Texas, USA, World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Food Safety Authority

[New Sancai Compilation and First Release] Experts warn that a bird flu pandemic may be coming and that it could be 100 times worse than COVID-19. The avian influenza virus was recently discovered in a Texas dairy worker, the second case of human infection in U.S. history.

The New York Post stated that the H5N1 avian influenza virus rarely affects humans, but in recent months, the virus has been found not only in wild birds and poultry, but also in mammals. Experts are worried that if the virus continues to mutate, it may spread widely among humans.

In 2020, a new, more virulent strain of the flu virus was discovered, and experts warned that we were dangerously close to experiencing a pandemic that would eclipse COVID-19.

CBC.com stated that specific human cases are currently occurring around the world, and Louise Moncia, an avian influenza expert at the University of Pennsylvania, said that her "most concern" is that humans will be infected with pathogenic avian influenza.

According to the World Health Organization, the human mortality rate may be as high as over 50%. By comparison, COVID-19 currently kills less than 0.1% of those infected.

John Fulton, a consultant to the vaccine and pharmaceutical industry and founder of Canada's BioNiagara, who recently organized a panel to discuss the dire situation, said the current bird flu situation "seems to be 100 times worse than COVID-19. Or if it It's also possible that it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate. Once it mutates and infects humans, we can only hope that [the death rate] goes down."

"We need to tell the government to assist researchers so we can bridge the gaps in knowledge about how bird flu mutates to infect humans and other mammals. We need to help vaccine manufacturers prepare for a pandemic that could be more deadly than COVID-19 in years. I've been trying to sound the alarm," Fulton said.

A Texas dairy worker infected with bird flu reported red eyes and was told to quarantine. Other symptoms of bird flu include cough, body aches and fever.

Mandy Cohen, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said her organization is "taking this situation very seriously," according to The Washington Post. "Before last week we had not found avian influenza in cattle. This is new. It is a reservoir where the virus spreads and can change."

Cohen assured the public that the risk of contracting bird flu remains low because the virus found in cattle workers does not easily evolve to spread to humans.

However, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) warns that if it does mutate enough to cause infection in humans, it could spread rapidly. EFSA said: "If avian influenza A [H5N1] viruses acquire the ability to spread efficiently in humans, large-scale transmission may occur due to the lack of immune defenses against H5 viruses in humans."

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)