Washington reports first case of H5N5

[kit_hung]

This is it. Health officials in Washington have said that an elderly man has been diagnosed with the bird flu, which is called H5N5. This is the first time it has been seen in humans – before it was only in animals.

Now this H5N5 is the bird flu strain, it hits birds very badly. It was seen in two wolves in Norway last year, but it has never been seen in humans until now.

For the record, the last time a person in the US was diagnosed with bird flu was nine months ago, and that was a different subtype.

There is a guy named Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude Hospital, who told the Washington Post that although this H5N5 is different from the H5N1 that most people are familiar with, there is no need to panic. He says that according to risk models, this H5N5 is masquerading as H5N1 – so its impact on humans is not something that is very scary at the moment.

Source: conflingo

 

[gwolf666]

Personally, I believe that although experts like Richard Webby reassure us that there's no need to worry too much, we must always be cautious with these issues. History has taught us that viruses can mutate rapidly, and what doesn't seem like a threat today can become a serious problem tomorrow. It's interesting that this H5N5 strain, which until now had only been seen in birds and some animals in the wild, has now infected a human, albeit in an isolated case. Official communication tries to calm us, but we must also understand that vigilance must remain high. We mustn't let our guard down, especially with viruses that have the ability to jump species. Prevention, information, and preparedness are key because, in these cases, science is still learning and adapting to new variants.

 

[eLdavis]

If humans are now being affected, it is possible that the virus have started to mutate, hence it is able to survive in humans?