What’s News, February 2023
Feb 3 2023

Is this the next Pandemic already in the making?

How much of a risk is there of the H5N1 Avia Flu (Bird Flu) virus triggering a human pandemic?

Science Magazine recently reported in their January 27 2023 issue that a recent spread of bird flu between mink at a Spanish farm reignited the fear of a bird flu pandemic.

The outbreak at a large mink farm in the Galicia region of northwest Spain led to the culling of all 50,000 mink and the destruction of their carcasses. Immediately all workers on the farm were subjected to quarantine conditions, thankfully, none becoming ill with the virus.

The virus responsible for bird flu has not previously been known to easily transmit between mammals and so the outbreak is considered an early warning bell that the spread amongst a densely packed mammalian population such as the mink could provide a pathway for the virus to mutate to a more easily transmissible form, making its way into human populations and allowing an H5N1 pandemic to begin.

To read the full article click here

Source: Science 27 January 2023 : Vol 379 Issue 6630