H5N1 Bird Flu Concerns Grow. Are COVID-19 Mistakes Being Repeated?
By Bruce Y. Lee
“There’s a saying that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Will that be the case with the H5N1 avian influenza virus that’s been spreading among birds for years, jumped to dairy cattle earlier this year and appeared in a pig a month ago? Is hindsight not 2020? Are we seeing the same mistakes made with the H5N1 bird flu that we did during the COVID-19 pandemic? Or is this H5N1 virus situation right now different enough from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic that we don’t have to worry about the “p” word this time?
Well, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently lists the public health risk of bird flu as low. But there’s no guarantee that it will stay that way forever. Here’s what we know at the moment about H5N1:…”
to read the full article go to
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2024/12/02/h5n1-bird-flu-concerns-grow-are-covid-19-mistakes-being-repeated/
“What Are Emerging Infectious Diseases?
Emerging infectious diseases are infections that have recently appeared within a population or those whose incidence or geographic range is rapidly increasing or threatens to increase in the near future. Emerging infections can be caused by:
Previously undetected or unknown infectious agents
Known agents that have spread to new geographic locations or new populations
Previously known agents whose role in specific diseases has previously gone unrecognized.
Re-emergence of agents whose incidence of disease had significantly declined in the past, but whose incidence of disease has reappeared. This class of diseases is known as re-emerging infectious diseases.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/emerging-infectious-diseases
Avian Influenza in Birds: Causes and How It Spreads
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/virus-transmission/avian-in-birds.html#:~:text=Infected%20birds%20can%20shed%20avian,with%20virus%20from%20infected%20birds.
“Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, is a viral infection primarily affecting birds. A global outbreak of H5N1, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, has been spreading across the world since late 2020, driven by a new emerging lineage of the virus — 2.3.4.4b. H5N1 has been a significant concern in global public health due to its potential to cause severe disease in humans and its ability to infect a wide range of hosts, including poultry, wild birds, and mammals. Since its emergence in the late 1990s, the virus has predominantly been an issue for the poultry industry, but sporadic human cases have raised alarms about its pandemic potential. However, recent human cases of H5N1 in British Columbia in Canada and California have increased concerns about the adaptability of the virus and possible mutations that could facilitate human-to-human transmission.”
Emerging H5N1mutations raise risk of human infections
By Vinod Scaria and Bani Jolly
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/emerging-h5n1-mutations-raise-risk-of-human-infections/article68928505.ece