No one wants another pandemic—but bird flu has already...
Jun 14, 2024 8:37:26 GMT
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Post by Nadica (She/Her) on Jun 14, 2024 8:37:26 GMT
No one wants another pandemic—but bird flu has already flown the coop - Published June 11, 2024
Carolyn Barber, M.D., is an internationally published science and medical writer and a 25-year emergency physician. She is the author of Runaway Medicine: What You Don’t Know May Kill You, and the cofounder of the California-based homeless work program Wheels of Change.
At first glance, some of the expert reactions to the recent surge in bird flu virus cases, both in the U.S. and around the world, may appear contradictory. Isn’t a more urgent response required? How much livestock will be sacrificed? Is the risk to humans really so low that only moderate actions are called for?
In truth, though, most of the basics are no longer in question among epidemiologists. This H5N1 virus is certainly spreading. Thousands of outbreaks have been documented in wild and farmed bird populations across all continents, spilling over into mammal populations. In the U.S. alone, bird flu has resulted in the death of more than 96 million birds in commercial and backyard flocks since February 2022, according to a USDA database.
Keywords: H5N1, Bird Flu, Avian influenza,
Carolyn Barber, M.D., is an internationally published science and medical writer and a 25-year emergency physician. She is the author of Runaway Medicine: What You Don’t Know May Kill You, and the cofounder of the California-based homeless work program Wheels of Change.
At first glance, some of the expert reactions to the recent surge in bird flu virus cases, both in the U.S. and around the world, may appear contradictory. Isn’t a more urgent response required? How much livestock will be sacrificed? Is the risk to humans really so low that only moderate actions are called for?
In truth, though, most of the basics are no longer in question among epidemiologists. This H5N1 virus is certainly spreading. Thousands of outbreaks have been documented in wild and farmed bird populations across all continents, spilling over into mammal populations. In the U.S. alone, bird flu has resulted in the death of more than 96 million birds in commercial and backyard flocks since February 2022, according to a USDA database.
Keywords: H5N1, Bird Flu, Avian influenza,