Overview
- Russia’s agriculture minister Oksana Lut said bird flu has reached pandemic-scale effects on global production and is breaching species barriers, including infections in mammals.
- France’s Institut Pasteur expert Marie-Anne Rameix-Welti warned that H5 viruses could cause a pandemic more severe than COVID-19 if they mutate to spread between humans.
- The first recorded human H5N5 infection was reported this month in Washington state and the patient died, with past human H5 cases typically linked to close contact with infected animals.
- WOAH scientific chief Gregorio Torres said the present risk of a global human pandemic remains low and noted no reason to avoid outdoor activity or poultry products, according to the reports.
- Gennady Onishchenko of the Russian Academy asserted H5N5 will not move into the human population, highlighting contrasting expert views as authorities continue surveillance across animal and human health.