Forbes April 18, 2024
Topline
A top World Health Organization official warned there’s an increasing threat of human-to-human bird flu transmission Thursday, as the virus has increasingly mutated to spread to humans from other mammals—though there’s still no evidence of the virus passing between people.
Key Facts
Key Background
Some worry bird flu may become the next major pandemic because of the way it’s spreading to cows, since they’re close in species to humans, while the high death rate is also a major cause of concern should a pandemic break out. Because there isn’t any evidence it’s spreading between humans, a bird flu pandemic may be unlikely, Joe DeRisi, a biochemist at the University of California, San Francisco said. However, he noted there’s “reason...