Headline: Scientific American, 2/7/2025
Megha Satyanarayana writes:
Right after President Donald Trump took office, amid the flurry of executive orders and agency upheavals, the administration told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention not to release any reports or communications until one of Trump’s people could take a look at them. Among the many reports not released that week was a study on how many veterinarians had gotten bird flu.
On the surface, this might seem like a small thing compared to the drama unfolding over tariffs, immigration, the firings of inspectors general and whatever new, egregious thing Elon Musk is doing without congressional approval. But this report matters. The H5N1 bird flu virus has been on the warpath since 2022, infecting chickens, cows, wild birds and now pigs, ducks, cats and several other animals.
This virus is versatile. This virus is mutating. And it is surely infecting more people than we think. [emphasis added]
Sure, the risk of a human epidemic is still considered low. (Sound familiar?)
Related posts:
February 2025
No comments:
Post a Comment