Florida scientists have reported the first known and fatal case of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in a bottlenose dolphin.
Florida scientists have reported the first known and fatal case of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in a bottlenose dolphin.
We’ve had cows, goats, dolphins all recently suffering outbreaks of this. The fact of the matter is that it has already figured out a way to jump to and spread among mammals in general, so going from other mammals to humans is likely only a matter of time.
And with the rate of spread and that fatality rate…yikes. You’re looking at an extinction level event right there.
If this turns into another pandemic, it’s going to make covid look like a mild cold by comparison. And if you thought lockdowns were bad with covid…
Yeah, I’m a wee bit nervous.
I’m not. I’m done being scared after the pandemic, but we are careful now. My family continues to mask in indoor public places most of the time—especially if it’s crowded with a bunch of people we don’t know well who have small children. We had COVID over Christmas and New Year after going mask-free in the late fall. I ended up with COVID psychosis in February, and the health effects are still impacting me as a runner/triathlete up to this point in late April. Until more is done to remedy that crap, I prefer not to risk hurting my pulmonary or nervous system again. I’ve had friends who’ve had this thing about 3 or 4 times and dread to think what their brains and hearts are turning into—especially as they age further (we’re in our 40s/50s). I haven’t had a flu in ages so I suppose it works quite well for it, too.
I laughed out loud when you said extinction level event. Come on now.
Trump said the same thing about covid. It’s no big deal. It’ll go away soon. Nobody’s going to die from it. Look at how well that turned out.
Bird flu in humans has a fatality rate of over 50% in humans. By comparison, Covid has a fatality rate of <3%.
Covid caused 2 million deaths in the US alone, with a fatality rate of <3%. What the hell do you think would happen with a disease that spreads just as easily if not more so and a fatality rate where half of the people who get it are going to die?
Not to mention that COVID damages the immune system and we’ve been letting it spread like wildfire opening the floodgates for another virus to come in and take advantage. H5N1 in a population with an already damaged immune system could be catastrophic.