Experts are worried about a possible H5N1 bird flu pandemic, saying it could be much worse than Covid-19. This expert think it could affect a lot of people and cause a lot of deaths. These worries came up in a meeting where scientists talked about the H5N1 bird flu virus. They are concerned that the virus might be getting close to a point where it could start a worldwide pandemic. This has reported by a UK newspaper called the Daily Mail.
What is H5N1 bird flu virus?
H5N1 bird flu also known as avian influenza A(H5N1). It is a type of influenza virus that primarily infects birds. However, it can also infect humans as well as other animals, leading to severe illness and, in some cases, death. The H5N1 virus belongs to the influenza A virus group which is highly pathogenic. Which means it can cause severe disease in birds and humans.
The natural hosts for the H5N1 virus is birds, particularly wild birds such as ducks and geese. The virus is typically spread among birds through direct contact with infected birds or their droppings, as well as through contaminated surfaces or water sources. Poultry, including chickens and turkeys, can also become infected and spread the virus rapidly within flocks.
The first detection of the H5N1 virus in birds reports in China in 1996. After a year later, in 1997, an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu occurred in Hong Kong.
Since then, sporadic cases and small outbreaks of H5N1 infection in humans have occurred primarily through direct contact with infected birds or their environments.
What Expert says about H5N1 Birds Flu?
Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi who is a well-known bird flu expert in Pittsburgh, said that H5N1 flu could cause a pandemic because it can infect many different animals, including humans. He said, “We are getting dangerously close to this virus potentially causing a pandemic,”
“We are not really talking about a virus that is yet to make a jump, we are talking about a virus that is globally present, already infecting a range of mammals and is circulating… It is really high time that we are prepared.”
Another expert named John Fulton stressed that the possible H5N1 pandemic could be very serious, even more deadly than the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fulton, who is a pharmaceutical company consultant, said, “This appears to be 100 times worse than Covid, or it could be if it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate. Once it’s mutated to infect humans, we can only hope that the [fatality rate] drops.”
According to WHO data, Since 2003, 52 out of every 100 people infected with the H5N1 virus have died, giving it a fatality rate of over 50 percent. In comparison, the current fatality rate for Covid-19 is 0.1 percent, which has decreased from 20 percent at the beginning of the pandemic.
Symptoms of H5N1 birdflu
Symptoms of H5N1 bird flu in humans can include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, and difficulty breathing. In different cases, the infection can progress rapidly to respiratory failure and death. Particularly in individuals with underlying health conditions or weakened immune systems can progress rapidly to respiratory failure and death.
