In a recent scientific briefing, alarm bells were rung over the potential danger of a bird flu pandemic. The H5N1 strain of bird flu, already globally present and infecting a variety of mammals, is inching dangerously close to sparking a worldwide health crisis.
Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, a renowned bird flu investigator based in Pittsburgh, highlighted the severity of the situation. He emphasized that the H5N1 strain has the potential to trigger a pandemic due to its ability to infect a wide range of mammalian hosts, including humans. He stressed, “The virus is already globally present, infecting a range of mammals and circulating. It’s high time we prepare.”
John Fulton, a pharmaceutical industry advisor and the founder of the Canada-based pharmaceutical firm BioNiagara, reiterated these concerns. He underscored the gravity of a potential H5N1 pandemic, suggesting it could be significantly more lethal than Covid-19. “If it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate, this could be 100 times worse than Covid. Once it mutates to infect humans, we can only hope that the fatality rate drops,” Fulton cautioned.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), the H5N1 bird flu has claimed the lives of 52 out of every 100 people diagnosed since 2003, totaling 462 deaths out of 887 cases. In stark contrast, the current fatality rate for Covid is less than 0.1 percent. However, at the onset of the pandemic, it was around 20 percent.
