H5N1: The Next Pandemic?

Sorry, I know the title is a bit click-baity, BUT... there are a few concerning developments that bird flu (AKA: H5N1) is getting closer to having pandemic potential.

Nature

Quote:

An outbreak of avian influenza on a mink farm in Spain provides the strongest evidence so far that the H5N1 strain of flu can spread from one infected mammal to another. The outbreak of H5N1 flu, described in a report in Eurosurveillance on 19 January1, occurred on an American mink (Neovison vison) farm in Carral in October 2022. Genetic sequencing showed that the animals were infected with a new variant of H5N1, which includes genetic material from a strain found in gulls, as well as a genetic change known to increase the ability of some animal-flu viruses to reproduce in mammals. The new variant puts bird flu in “uncharted territory”, says Wendy Puryear, a virologist at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Researchers have warned that, without careful precautions, the disease might eventually spread among people.

There have also been some recent cases of bears with avian flu. Not sure if there is evidence one way or another if any of them caught it from each other.

Smithsonian

Quote:

Amid an avian flu outbreak that’s decimating wild and domestic bird populations, scientists have documented the first cases in wild grizzly bears. The three bears, which were euthanized last fall in Montana, later tested positive for the virus, the state’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks department announced in a statement last week. The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus has previously been found in a fox and a skunk in Montana, as well as in other mammals such as raccoons, black bears and coyotes in other areas of the country. These are the first recorded cases among wild grizzlies, per the department.

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