With reports of two additional human cases of H5N1 Avian Influenza, the fear campaign for bird flu has started ramping up to another level.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it’s preparing for the “possibility of increased risk to human health” from bird flu, ABC News noted.

“The CDC has confirmed a second human case of the highly contagious bird flu virus linked to an outbreak in dairy cows. Health officials say a Michigan farmworker recovered after mild symptoms, and likely contracted the virus from infected livestock,” World News Tonight stated.

WATCH:

Australia recently reported its first-ever human case of bird flu.

Per ABC News:

Australia has recorded its first ever human case of one particular strain of the bird flu, after H5N1 avian influenza was detected in a child travelling home to Victoria.

The Victorian Department of Health confirmed the child returning to the country became unwell in March and subsequently tested positive to the avian influenza, also known as bird flu.

“The child experienced a severe infection but is no longer unwell and has made a full recovery,” the spokesperson said.

“Contact tracing has not identified any further cases of avian influenza connected to this case.”

The department reassured the community that the chances of additional human cases was “very low”.

Unsurprisingly, the United States federal government is preparing to develop bird flu vaccines.

According to reports, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will move forward with a plan to produce 4.8 million doses of H5N1 avian influenza vaccine.

“Dawn O’Connell, JD, said health officials have identified a manufacturing line at one of its manufacturing partners for fill-and-finish steps, without disrupting production of seasonal flu vaccine. Currently, the vaccine is in bulk form and will be produced in multidose vials,” the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) stated.

Discussions reportedly are underway with Pfizer and Moderna to potentially manufacture a bird flu vaccine.

Per CIDRAP:

She said it takes a couple months to fill and finish the vaccine doses, which would save time in case a vaccine is needed. Federal health officials have said one of two H5N1 candidate vaccine viruses is well matched to the circulating strain.

O’Connell added that active discussions are under way across federal agencies about what the key triggers would be for deploying H5N1 vaccine doses. She also said discussions are still under way with mRNA vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna, with an announcement expected soon on how the companies might be involved in vaccine development.

Nirav Shah, MD, JD, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said potential trigger factors might include a change in transmission propensity, such as human-to-human in addition to animal-to-human spread, and any sign of increased illness severity.

He also said a change in the complexion of the cases might be a trigger, such as H5N1 infections cropping up in people who have no epidemiologic links to affected dairy farms. “And we’re always looking for mutations,” Shah said. “We’re in rich discussions across federal agencies.”

Dr. Mary Talley Bowden attempted to quell any potential panic from the bird flu fear propaganda, noting the two American human bird flu cases were “just pink eye.”

“So far, just pink eye in 2 farmers. And if it turns into something more serious, no one will listen… they’ve destroyed all credibility,” Bowden stated.

“And HHS is in talks with Moderna and Pfizer over the new mRNA platform bird flu product. They have destroyed all credibility,” Dr. Kat Lindley added.

“Reports of new human bird flu cases and plans for increased vaccine production sparked a surge in the value of vaccine-focused biotech companies’ stock on Wednesday, including Moderna, BioNTech, CureVac and Novavax,” The Defender noted.

The Defender reports:

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported that the H5 avian flu case in a dairy farm worker was identified through ongoing public health actions, which allowed farm workers to monitor and notify health officials if they developed symptoms, CIDRAP reported.

Reporting on only the second human case of bird flu infection this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the worker’s nasal swab tested negative for H5 influenza. But an eye swab tested positive, suggesting an eye infection similar to a previous case in Texas, reported in April.

Meanwhile, Michigan’s agriculture department reported another H5N1 avian flu outbreak in a dairy herd, bringing the total number of affected farms in the state to 19. The latest outbreak occurred in Gratiot County, where the virus was found at three other dairy farms earlier in the week.

 

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