Some of the media have figured out that the bird flu has evaporated from headlines as the war-mongering has increased. However, even though it’s out of the news, the media that are still reporting on it have warned that avian influenza is still circulating.
The United States has also ended its emergency response to the H5N1 HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) as the infections in human beings have disappeared.
U.S. Ends Its Bird Flu Emergency Response As Infections Disappear
Bird flu has rapidly disappeared from the thoughts of most people and the headlines. But according to a report by Scientific American, that is making it easy for the public to think the avian influenza threat has waned. Far from it, experts say. “The flu is still there, and we just don’t know enough about it,” says Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan.
Other health experts claim that the virus isn’t gone either, and that it’s still circulating. There has been this wishful thinking that it’s just going to wipe through and be gone, and we’ve just not seen that, and that’s just not how flu viruses work,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Brown University. “[Bird flu] isn’t going away.”
The most reliable data on bird flu prevalence come from poultry operations. That’s because the virus is so devastating in chickens and turkeys that farmers must cull flocks as soon as they detect an infection to reduce spread. They are also able to report outbreaks to the federal government to receive partial compensation. There’s no way to ignore a sick flock or any incentive to hide one. –Scientific American
Cambodia Reports 10 Cases of Bird Flu This Year
Mike Persia, a poultry specialist at Virginia Tech, says that bird flu, like the flu and common cold, will generally be less prevalent over the warmer months of the year. “We generally see a reduction in infections over the summer,” he says.
“I’m optimistic that maybe this was the last of it, and it goes away forever. I wouldn’t take the lull as proof of that, though,” says Jada Thompson, an agricultural economist at the University of Arkansas. “We need to maintain vigilance.”
What do you think? Will bird flu come back? Will the fear-mongering come back? Is this the next plandemic? Why was this such a big deal, and then all of a sudden, didn’t matter anymore? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
