The CDC is taking the US bird flu outbreak ‘very seriously’ amid growing fears the virus could jump to humans and cause an epidemic.
A farm worker in Texas became the second American ever to be infected with the H5N1 strain this week after catching it from an infected cow — also the first time that bird flu has been found in cattle.
Mandy Cohen, the agency’s director, told NPR that officials were ‘monitoring the situation very closely’ as farms in six states struggle with outbreaks on dairy farms.
The ease with which this virus is jumping between species raises the risk of it evolving to better infect people, which prompted one expert to tell DailyMail.com it could pose a greater risk than Covid.
Cohen said: ‘That just means more opportunity for this virus to mutate and change. And that’s what we want to make sure we are continuing to stay ahead of.’
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13272137/cdc-bird-flu-monitoring.html