‘100 times worse than Covid’: Scientists warn of bird flu pandemic after rare human case in Texas

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New York: The bird flu pandemic with the potential to be 100 times worse than COVID may be on the horizon after a rare human case was discovered in Texas, experts have warned, the New York Post reported on Thursday...

But the recent cases detected in mammals, with cattle herds across four states becoming infected and on Monday, federal health officials announced that a dairy worker in Texas caught the virus...

This virus [has been] on the top of the pandemic list for many, many years and probably decades, Suresh Kuchipudi, a bird flu researcher from Pittsburgh, said at a recent panel discussing the issue, the New York Post reported citing the Daily Mail...

So therefore, in my view, I think this is a virus that has the greatest pandemic threat [that is] playing out in plain sight and globally present, Kuchipudi said.. John Fulton, a pharmaceutical industry consultant for vaccines and the founder of Canada-based BioNiagara who organized the meeting, also expressed his concerns, the Mail reports, the New York Post reported...

If avian A [H5N1] influenza viruses acquire the ability to spread efficiently among humans, large-scale transmission could occur due to the lack of immune defences against H5 viruses in humans, the Food Safety Authority said.. To prevent any potential spread, the US is already testing components used to create a vaccine for the virus, and two candidate vaccine viruses appear to be well-matched to protect against H5N1, the Washington Post reports...

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