The recent death in the US from H5N1 bird flu virus has reignited concerns about a potential pandemic. While bird flu and COVID-19 share some similarities in causing respiratory problems, they are distinct viruses. Experts emphasize that H5N1 is not easily transmitted between humans and the US has been preparing for avian influenza outbreaks for years.
Is the bird flu outbreak causing egg shortages and milk shortages the next pandemic? The first U.S. death from H5N1 triggered memories of COVID-19 ., some Americans are feeling an uncomfortable flashback to the early days of Covid-19, when infectious disease experts were talking about a new virus that was sending people to the hospital with respiratory infections. Although both viruses can cause breathing problems, they are very different.
Covid was spreading easily from person to person when it arrived in the US in 2020, but bird flu has been lurking for years, mostly as a problem for animals. Scientists also know a lot more about H5N1 bird flu than they did the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the US has been preparing for the threat of a new flu outbreak for a long time.Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a broad term that refers to several types of influenza that normally infect birds. The bird flu that's been making news in the United States is a virus called H5N1. Some flu viruses carried by birds cause only mild infections and are classified as low-pathogenic viruses. In contrast, H5N1 often kills birds that catch it, so it is classified as a highly pathogenic avian influenza.To complicate matters, although bird flu viruses primarily prey on birds, they can also spread to other animals, including humans. Human infections with bird flu viruses are rare, and they're usually what scientists call dead-end infections because they don't typically transmit from person to person.You may have heard of H5N1 only recently, but it's not a new virus. Scientists have been tracking it for almost three decades.in geese in Southern China in 1996. Over the years, it has caused sporadic outbreaks in wild and farmed birds around the globe. The virus reappeared in North America in late 2021, and it quickly caught scientists' attention because it seemed to have broadened its repertoire, spreading beyond birds and infecting a growing variety of mammal
Bird Flu H5N1 Pandemic Avian Influenza COVID-19
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