Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said he predicts a bird flu pandemic will happen, it’s just a matter of when that will be. https://t.co/23chXb2fg9
— The Hill (@thehill) June 15, 2024
Redfield predicts the mortality “probably somewhere between 25 and 50 percent mortality.”
“Once the virus gains the ability to attach to the human receptor and then go human to human, that’s when you’re going to have the pandemic,” he said. “And as I said, I think it’s just a matter of time.”
[…] since it is being detected in cattle herds across the country, he is a bit concerned.
Since cattle live close to pigs and the virus is able to evolve from pigs to humans, there is cause for concern. Still, he argued, there is greater risk for the disease to be lab-grown.
“I know exactly what amino acids I have to change because in 2012, against my recommendation, the scientists that did these experiments actually published them,” he said. “So, the recipe for how to make bird flu highly infection [sic] for humans is already out there.”
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4723753-former-cdc-director-predicts-bird-flu-pandemic/