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Is Bird Flu the Next Pandemic?

Avian Flu, H5N1, Offers the World a Grim New Threat

Antonio Segovia, MD.
Health and  Science

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Image By Author Using Grok

The threat of another world pandemic is still looming large with the highly pathogenic avian influenza called H5N1. As it did when COVID-19 emerged, this virus could spread widely in humans if it gains the ability to do so. Though an animal disease for the most part, H5N1 is known to jump to people, spurring concern about pandemic risk.

This is an H5N1 subtype of the influenza A virus which primarily infects wild birds and poultry. It transmits readily among animal populations and can have a high death rate in particular species, including humans. Though the virus prefers to bind to the alpha2–3 receptor (which is present in almost all birds), its recognition of the alpha2–6 receptor, which is very widely distributed in the human body, determines whether it can infect humans. Such adaptations have pathogenic potential that can lead to human-to-human transmission, with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Recent cases and genetic discoveries

There have been 66 confirmed human cases of H5N1 in the United States, and the most recent case in Louisiana is alarming. The patient, who is now in critical condition, has two mutations in the hemagglutinin gene — the “H” in H5N1 — that indicate the virus is adjusting…

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