Experts warns: H5N1 bird flu outbreak poses risk far exceeding Covid pandemic
PTC News Desk: Amidst recent discussions on the H5N1 strain of bird flu, experts have sounded the alarm, cautioning that the potential outbreak could be "100 times worse than the Covid pandemic", according to reports from the Daily Mail.
During a recent briefing, researchers highlighted the pressing concern of a new pandemic stemming from the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, a renowned bird flu researcher based in Pittsburgh, emphasised the critical threshold that the virus is approaching, noting its capacity to infect various mammals, including humans. "We are getting dangerously close to this virus potentially causing a pandemic," warned Dr. Kuchipudi.
John Fulton, a consultant for a pharmaceutical company, echoed these concerns, stressing the severity of a potential H5N1 pandemic, suggesting it could be significantly deadlier than Covid-19. "This appears to be 100 times worse than Covid, or it could be if it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate," cautioned Fulton.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, the H5N1 virus has a fatality rate exceeding 50 per cent, with 52 out of every 100 infected patients succumbing to the illness since 2003. In contrast, the current fatality rate for Covid-19 stands at 0.1 per cent, a drastic difference from its initial rate of 20 per cent at the onset of the pandemic. Out of 887 reported cases of bird flu, WHO records indicate 462 deaths.
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Recent outbreaks of avian flu in poultry facilities in Michigan and Texas, along with reports of dairy cows contracting the virus, underscore the urgency of the situation. Additionally, the first documented case of a human contracting the virus from a mammal further highlights the potential risks associated with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
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(Inputs from agencies)
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