Experts issue terrifying warning to America: Prepare for pandemic NOW as new virus spreads to all 50 States

Leading health experts have warned that the US is staring down the barrel of another pandemic as bird flu spirals out of control on US farms.

So far, the H5N1 outbreak has affected nearly 1,000 dairy cow herds and resulted in more than 70 human cases, including the first confirmed death. 

The US poultry industry is at significant risk, say experts from the Global Virus Network (GVN), particularly in areas with high-density farming and where personal protective practices may be lacking.

Since 2022, more than 168 million poultry in the US has been lost or culled due to the bird flu outbreak in America, which has caused the price of eggs to skyrocket.

Although human-to-human transmission has not yet been observed, experts caution that mutations and reassortments — when two viruses simultaneously infect a host and exchange genetic material — could raise the risk of it occurring. 

The GVN is now urging world governments to confront the threat of H5N1 avian influenza by strengthening surveillance efforts and enforcing stricter biosecurity protocols. 

The organization also warns that countries must prepare for the possibility of human-to-human spread to avoid a chaotic chain of events reminiscent of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Dr Peter Palese, who is a director at the GVN and world leader in influenza research, explains: ‘Initiatives should focus on enhancing biosecurity measures in agricultural settings and educating the public about safe handling of poultry products and potential risks associated with contact with infected animals.’

A fellow GVN director and expert on animal viruses, Dr Ab Osterhaus, says that a potential vaccine could also help to solve the crisis. 

He added: ‘Given the growing circulation of H5N1 among mammals, the GVN calls for urgent efforts to understand and interrupt transmission in cattle through herd management and potential vaccination.

‘Strengthening surveillance at animal-human interfaces is crucial, as current monitoring efforts are insufficient to guide effective prevention strategies.’ 

The Biden Administration awarded Moderna a $590 million contract to develop a vaccine for H5N1 bird flu vaccine but there were reports earlier this year that the new administration could pull that funding.

The White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response (OPPR), created after COVID-19 to coordinate rapid responses to outbreaks, has been left virtually unstaffed and unfunded since the Trump Administration came in, according to reports.

Pandemic planning has also been moved inside the National Security Council, which critics fear limits transparency and public oversight. 

The first US bird flu death was reported in January, with a person in Louisiana passing away after being hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms.

Health officials said the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.

No other details were revealed. They also said a genetic analysis of the patient’s infection suggested the bird flu virus had mutated while inside their body, which could have caused a more severe illness.

Since March 2024, 70 confirmed bird flu infections have been reported in the US, but most illnesses have been mild and most have been detected among farmworkers directly exposed to sick poultry or dairy cows. 

In two cases – an adult in Missouri and a child in California – health officials have not determined how they contracted the virus.

Many experts put H5N1 at the top of their lists of pandemic threats, due to how widespread it is among animals and how rapidly it appears to be mutating. 

Its growing presence in the environment increases the chances people will be exposed, and potentially catch it.

Dr Marc Johnson, a virologist at the University of Missouri, recently said on X: ‘This virus might not go pandemic, but it is really trying hard, and it sure is getting a lot of opportunities.’

Overall, figures show since the virus was detected in the US in January 2022, more than 12,875 wild and domestic flocks have been infected.

After the virus spread to cows this year, it was diagnosed in 1,031 herds across 17 states – with the majority in California and Colorado.

And 70 cases have now been detected in humans across 14 states this year, the most cases reported in the US in at least two decades. Before the current outbreak, the last human case of bird flu was in 1997.

There is no evidence any of the patients spread the disease to other patients.

However, the virus has been detected in unpasteurized or ‘raw’ milks, leading the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to announce that all companies handling raw milk will be required to share samples for testing upon request. 

Many experts, including officials at the World Health Organization, have criticized the US’ response to the outbreak.

Experts have described it as a pandemic ‘unfolding in slow motion.’ Until the end of 2024, nearly all testing of cattle and of people exposed to infected cows were voluntary. 

Even now, mandatory testing is limited only to cattle moving between state lines.  

Cases have also been sporadically recorded in pigs, which has concerned researchers because these animals can catch both human and bird strains of flu – and could be ‘mixing vessels’ for a new strain of bird flu virus.

And infections have been recorded among more than 400 non-bird wild animals in the US since May 2022, including red foxes, skunks, seals and raccoons.

Experts warned these animals may pick up the virus after eating from carcasses of birds that had died from the bird flu.

Wastewater surveillance for the virus has also picked up traces in 60 of the more than 250 sites monitored across the US. 

In California and Iowa, more than 80 percent of samples have tested positive. 

The US already has a stockpile of about 20million bird flu vaccines in its national stockpile, officials say, which are ‘well matched’ to the H5N1 virus. 

It also has the capacity to quickly make 100million more if necessary. 

There are also supplies of antivirals such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) – which used to treat the latest US bird flu patient in Louisiana – available.

Still ongoing, is work to develop a bird flu vaccine for poultry and tests showing that human antivirals would work just as well on sick cows.