Top virologists worried

Next pandemic? Corona, on the other hand, a “walk in the park”

Electron micrograph of an H5N1 virus

(Bild: CDC/Dr. Erskine Palmer (gemeinfrei))

The H5N1 pathogen is currently spreading in the USA. It is now even appearing in dairy herds and has already been detected in commercial dairy products. It could be the start of a pandemic that could be even more catastrophic than Covid.

"There has never been anything like this before, such extremely large outbreaks in cows - all the experts are worried," Christian Drosten, head virologist at Berlin's Charité hospital, told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (Saturday editions).

The spread of bird flu among mammals could also be "mild, the virus needs several steps to adapt, and perhaps it is already under control before then", Drosten continued. "But it could also be the start of the next pandemic, which we are watching live here."

We do not yet know how often people who come into contact with these infected cows become infected.

Christian Drosten

Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/FABRIZIO BENSCH

The virologist explained that there is also a lack of better data insight for a more precise assessment. "We don't yet know how often people who come into contact with these infected cows become infected." It would be desirable for the USA to take decisive action now: "With quarantine. In other words, to try to isolate the infected herds; to see where people have had contact, whether they have antibodies in their blood. Thinking about certain hygiene measures. And also about vaccinating cows."

Virus is changing rapidly
"If the bird flu virus were to spread to humans and cause a pandemic, the corona pandemic would look like a walk in the park," epidemiologist Timo Ulrichs told the German magazine Focus. Current developments show that the bird flu virus is changing. However, it is difficult to predict how, if and when it will acquire pandemic potential.

World not equipped for impending pandemics
Only recently, an expert report criticized the fact that the world is not prepared for impending future pandemics. "If H5N1 were to spread from human to human, the world would very likely be overwhelmed again," warned former New Zealand Prime Minister and study co-author Helen Clark. A bird flu pandemic could "potentially be even more catastrophic than corona".