Bird Flu

[warpus]

Masks definitely work, there's plenty of scientific data supporting that statement.

Unfortunately if we ever have another serious global pandemic, there are a lot of people out there who will work against the rest of us when it comes to trying to deal with it.. and a lot of those people are in elected office.

 

[Samson]

The global H5N1 influenza panzootic in mammals

Influenza A viruses (IAV) have caused more documented global pandemics in human history than any other pathogen. High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) viruses belonging to the H5N1 subtype are a leading pandemic risk. Two decades after H5N1 “bird flu” became established in poultry in Southeast Asia, its descendants have resurged, setting off an H5N1 panzootic in wild birds that is fueled by (a) rapid intercontinental spread, reaching South America and Antarctica for the first time; (b) fast evolution via genomic reassortment; and (c) frequent spillover into terrestrial and marine mammals. The virus has sustained mammal-to-mammal transmission in multiple settings, including European fur farms, South American marine mammals, and US dairy cattle, raising questions about whether humans are next. Historically, swine are considered optimal intermediary hosts that help avian influenza viruses (AIV) adapt to mammals before jumping to humans. However, the altered ecology of H5N1 has opened the door to new evolutionary pathways. Could dairy cattle, farmed mink, or South American sea lions serve as new mammalian gateways to humans? Here we explore the molecular and ecological factors driving H5N1’s sudden expansion in host range and assess the likelihood of different zoonotic pathways leading to an H5N1 pandemic.

 

[Samson]

Bird flu suspected of killing dozens of captive tigers in Vietnam

Dozens of tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in southern Vietnam, with subsequent tests detecting cases of bird flu.

The country’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Thursday that two samples taken from dead tigers at Mango Garden Resort in Dong Nai province tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

Since early last month, 20 tigers died at the resort after being fed chicken, said Phan Van Phuc, an official of Dong Nai province’s Centre for Disease Control, in the statement.

“It’s likely that the tigers had been infected from sick chicken, and the authorities are tracking the source of the chicken to determine the cause,” said Phan.

State media had previously said a total of 47 tigers, three lions and a panther died at the private My Quynh safari park in Long An province and the Vuon Xoai zoo in Dong Nai, near Ho Chi Minh City, in August and September.

Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV), an NGO focused on wildlife conservation, said there were 385 tigers living in captivity in Vietnam at the end of 2023.

About 310 are kept at 16 privately owned farms and zoos, while the rest are in state-owned facilities.

 

[danjuno]

No, we now have a concerted effort to destroy medical science for profit by pushing quack cures over actually accepted medical practice. ISIS wishes it had a fraction of the anti-vax movement's body count. Millions of people have been butchered in the name of "freedom" from anything resembling actual knowledge, so that merchants of fear and neo-snake oil salesmen could make a quick buck.