Scientists are sounding the alarm over a bird flu pandemic that could be “100 times worse than COVID” after a Texas rancher contracted the virus.
The details: The latest strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus first appeared in 2020 and was found in birds [both wild and commercial poultry] in all 50 states.
- Spread to mammals: This new strain is raising concern because it has spread to mammals. According to the CDC, it has been detected in over 200 mammals, including goats and cattle, since 2022.
- A multi-state outbreak in dairy cows was first reported last month.
Human infection: On Monday, a Texas dairy worker contracted the virus. He reported mild symptoms and is currently being treated with an anti-viral drug.
- 52 percent of humans who have contracted H5N1 since 2003 have died.
- For perspective, COVID currently kills less than 0.1 percent.
Risk to humans? Right now, as with the Texas dairy worker, humans can only catch bird flu through direct exposure. The CDC says, “the current risk to the general public from bird flu viruses is low.”
Worst case scenario: The media is buzzing with a quote from a man named John Fulton, a big-pharma vaccine consultant in Canada, who said: “This appears to be 100 times worse than COVID — or it could be if it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate.”
- Historically, bird flu has never mutated to widespread human-to-human transmission
The more realistic threat is to our food supply. When the virus pops up in a dairy farm or a poultry plant, the producers have no choice but to kill off its flock.
- The largest egg producer in the U.S. announced this week it is halting production and killing nearly 2 million chickens.
Down the rabbit hole: A report earlier this year found the U.S. government was partnering with Chinese scientists to experiment on bird flu to make it more infectious and deadly.
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