Health Alert! H5N1 Bird Flu Can Be 100 Times Worse Than Covid-19 Pandemic, Warn Experts

A wide variety of species including cow, cats and humans are getting affected with bird flu. In a rare incident, a dairy farm worker in Texas has been infected by Bird Flu after coming in contact with infected cows. Note that this is the first such case of a human getting affected by the H5N1 virus from a mammal. As humans are in close proximity to the cattle, the spread of the Bird flu has raised concerns among all. Meanwhile, experts have raised concerns over the potential of rapid spread of the bird flu pandemic among humans. They have also warned that it may lead to an exceptionally high fatality rate that can be 100 times worse than the Covid Pandemic. A UK-based tabloid cited the issue based on medical expert discussion. The virus is approaching a critical threshold and has the potential to cause a global pandemic, said the scientists. A prominent bird flu researcher from Pittsburg, Dr Suresh Kuchipudi said that, ‘We are getting dangerously close to this virus potentially causing a pandemic.’ Another expert emphasized that the H5N1 pandemic could be more dangerous than Covid-19. He said that once it is mutated to infect humans, the fatality rate may explode. The World Health Organisation’s data suggests that 52 out of every 100 patients infected with H5N1 virus have died since 2003, taking its fatality rate over 50 per cent. Meanwhile, the Covid fatality rate is currently 0.1 per cent, dropping down from 20 per cent at the start of the pandemic.

Published: Odishatv Bureau

Last updated: 10 April 2024, 06:26 PM IST