‘100 Times Worse’ Than COVID?

(TheRedAlertNews.com) – A new and far more apocalyptic pandemic might be in the making and it would be “one hundred times worse than COVID,” according to an expert raising the alarm after the discovery of a human infected with bird flu in the United States.

The rare instance of human infection has now been identified in dairy worker in Texas.

The H5N1 avian influenza, identified in a new form in 2020, has swiftly propagated, impacting birds across all states, including both wild and domesticated birds, and even expanding to mammals, with infections reported in cattle in several states.

Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, an expert in the field, emphasized the long-standing concerns about this virus’s pandemic potential.

“This virus [has been] on the top of the pandemic list for many, many years and probably decades. And now we’re getting dangerously close to this virus potentially causing a pandemic,” Kuchipudi said.

“So therefore, in my view, I think this is a virus that has the greatest pandemic threat [that is] playing out in plain sight and globally present,” he added.

John Fulton, a consultant in the pharmaceutical industry and organizer of a panel discussing the issue, pointed to the grave severity of the situation by comparing the potential impact of this virus to COVID-19, suggesting it could be significantly worse.

“This appears to be 100 times worse than COVID — or it could be if it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate. Once it’s mutated to infect humans, we can only hope that the [fatality rate] drops,” he declared.

The World Health Organization has reported 52% mortality rate among humans infected with H5N1 since 2003, starkly contrasting with the lower fatality rates observed with COVID-19.

The symptoms of bird flu resemble those of other influenza viruses, but the range of symptom severity is broad, from asymptomatic cases to severe, life-threatening conditions. A dairy worker in Texas infected by the virus presented with a symptom not uncommon to flu—conjunctivitis—and has been advised to isolate and undergo antiviral treatment.

“While cases among humans in direct contact with infected animals are possible, this indicates that the current risk to the public remains low,” the US Agriculture Department said in a statement over the weekend.

CDC Director Mandy Cohen sought to assure the public of the seriousness with which the U.S. government is treating this potential threat while also noting the current risk to the general populace remains minimal.

Yet, she acknowledged a new development.

“We had not seen avian flu in cattle prior to last week. That is new. It is a reservoir for [the] virus to circulate and potentially change,” she said.