this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2024
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Influenza is still the biggest threat to global health as WHO raises fears about the spread of avian strain

Influenza is the pathogen most likely to trigger a new pandemic in the near future, according to leading scientists.

An international survey, to be published next weekend, will reveal that 57% of senior disease experts now think that a strain of flu virus will be the cause of the next global outbreak of deadly infectious illness.

The belief that influenza is the world’s greatest pandemic threat is based on long-term research showing it is constantly evolving and mutating, said Cologne University’s Jon Salmanton-García, who carried out the study.

“Each winter influenza appears,” he said. “You could describe these outbreaks as little pandemics. They are more or less controlled because the different strains that cause them are not virulent enough – but that will not necessarily be the case for ever.”

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[–] mozz@mbin.grits.dev 55 points 7 months ago (2 children)

What, you mean that massive pandemic of Avian flu that’s killing animals across the world and has jumped to humans quite a few times now?

That flu virus? Why would that be important?

[–] TheWeirdestCunt@lemm.ee 24 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Tbf it could always jump to individual humans, the dangerous part is if it can spread from person to person instead of animal to person and the fact that it’s spreading from mammal to mammal means it’s more likely to evolve to spread between humans.

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 16 points 7 months ago

There are now cow-to-cow transmissions, which is why the WHO is expressing more concern.

[–] BruceTwarzen@kbin.social 1 points 7 months ago

Well we torture more and more animals on smaller spaces.

Good thing we decided to beef up our pandemic response infrastructure in case this happens, right? Right?

[–] gimpchrist@lemmy.world 33 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Maybe factory farms should be stopped now considering that they are fucking breeding grounds for this shit

[–] MilitantVegan@lemmy.world 16 points 7 months ago

This. There's more than an ample credible threat to justify an executive order to have them all shut down as a matter of national security.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 27 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's fine, I've stocked up on horse paste.

It's apple flavored!

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Eww. No thanks. I'll stick with drinking bleach, thank you.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Okay, but remember, you can't just drink bleach. You also have to shine a UV light up your ass for it to have the necessary antiviral effects.

[–] SerotoninSwells@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Well then, good news. It's a suppository!

[–] Corgisocks@programming.dev 3 points 7 months ago

I guess it's time to invest in UV butt plugs.

[–] Yrt@feddit.de 9 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Wasn't it that COVID came as a surprise for most scientists cause they bet on avian flu viruses? So it isn't any new info and a fear they've had for quite some time now.

I heard from a guy from the German COVID watch (RKI), that the probability for a new epidemic is around 2.x% each year and around 1.x% for a pandemic. That's why there is a big epidemic around every 30-50 years and a pandemic every 80-100 years. What type of virus will be the next big thing is nothing but a guess and often wrong (like COVID out of nowhere), cause it's difficult to predict the next mutation of a virus. That's also why a lot of flu vaccines in the past didn't have the effect they hoped for (mostly it's still a very good vaccine!).

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 17 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Wasn’t it that COVID came as a surprise for most scientists cause they bet on avian flu viruses?

No, not at all. In fact, the initial vaccines for covid started safety and effectiveness trials within months.

By early January 2020, that genetic blueprint was in hand and the first vaccines to test were ready just a few weeks later.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I would think after SARS and MERS that many scientists thought that a coronavirus would be a good candidate for the next pandemic.

[–] OpenStars@startrek.website 14 points 7 months ago

Except "nobody listens". Well that's not entirely true: Obama's administration created an entire pandemic response team whose sole job was to prepare in advance for when something like that was bound to inevitably happen - like figure out what to do, how to do it, how to handle getting the complex messaging out to people who are not comfortable with a lot of details or the varying levels of uncertainty that was going to be inevitable, etc. But who would ever want anything that that man (cough of color cough - what?, I didn't say anything, I just coughed is all!) touched? I heard that he even has cooties, eww gross! From a reliable source even - a Stable Genius who uses all the best words!

Anyway, it's a good thing that the next inevitable pandemic (that will definitely 100% happen) is absolutely certain to need zero federal funding, bc it will never ever happen, so we can all just go back to our regular lives, safe in the knowledge that the top 0.1% will be fine no matter what. The Economy will go on and on... all praise be to The Economy.