ALERT! Another COVID-19 like pandemic to hit world, expert issues CHILLING warning, days it may start from…

New Delhi: Earth has been grappling with multiple challenges, be it the devastating impacts of war, natural disasters, or the relentless spread of infectious diseases. Remember lockdown, masks, sanitizers? Who can forget deadly COVID-19? The deadly pandemic has transformed our lives and redefined public health priorities. It has left a lasting mark on humanity. Now, five years later, as the world continues to recover from its aftermath, a new threat looms. Read what it is.

ALERT! Another COVID-19 like pandemic to hit world, expert issues CHILLING warning, days it may start from…

Long observed in regions like Asia, including India, the virus has recently shown alarming developments, particularly in North America, reigniting global health concerns. The United States has yet to fully apply the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to address emerging threats like the H5N1 bird flu, which continues to exhibit signs of pandemic potential, health experts told CNN on Friday.

Dr. Deborah Birx, who served as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator under President Donald Trump, during an interview on “CNN Newsroom” with Pamela Brown said, “We kind of have our head in the sand about how widespread this is from the zoonotic standpoint, from the animal-to-human standpoint.”

As per the report, Birx emphasized the need for widespread testing of farm workers, who make up the majority of confirmed H5N1 cases in the US. Birx warned that the country is approaching a higher-risk period as seasonal flu begins to circulate. This increases the possibility that someone could contract both the seasonal flu and H5N1 simultaneously, potentially allowing the viruses to exchange gene segments. This process, known as reassortment, could provide the bird flu virus with new capabilities to infect humans more effectively.

In an unprecedented turn of events, H5N1 began infecting dairy cattle for the first time globally in early 2024. By March, California, a major hub of dairy production, had declared a state of emergency after the virus impacted over 660 farms. This unexpected development has raised serious concerns that H5N1 is evolving in ways that could have far-reaching implications for global health.

The virus has spread far beyond farms, impacting wildlife across North America. A wildlife sanctuary in Washington reported the deaths of 20 large predators, including tigers and lions, due to H5N1. This alarming trend is mirrored by the virus causing fatalities in seals along coastlines, foxes in forests, and even bears in national parks. These incidents signal an unprecedented surge in mammalian infections, marking a concerning evolution in H5N1’s behavior.

The CDC has reported 65 human cases of H5N1 bird flu in 2024. Among these, 39 cases are linked to dairy herds, while 23 are connected to poultry farms and culling operations. The source of exposure remains unclear in two cases. The only severe case in Louisiana is associated with backyard flocks.

According to the CNN report, the CDC has a seasonal flu vaccination campaign underway for farm workers in states with infected herds to protect them from seasonal flu and reduce the risk of reassortment with the H5N1 virus.

While the agency confirmed that there is currently no human-to-human transmission of H5N1, it acknowledges the ongoing risk that the virus could evolve to more easily infect humans.

In a recent update, the CDC reported that a genetic analysis of samples from the patient in Louisiana, who was hospitalized with the country’s first severe case of H5N1, suggests the virus likely has mutated within the patient to become potentially more transmissible to humans. However, there is no evidence that the virus has spread to anyone else.