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798

Top virologists sound the alarm on bird flu and plead with world leaders to prepare for another pandemic (fortune.com)

submitted 10 months ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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[–] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 225 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Scientists: we have some good news and some bad news on the pandemic front.

Public: Gimme the good news first.

Scientists: We're going to solve the housing crisis really quickly.

[–] ryan213@lemmy.ca 59 points 10 months ago

That's dark. +1

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

There could be 1000000 empty houses for every homeless person and capital would still be murdering people who tried to squat.

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[–] ininewcrow@lemmy.ca 148 points 10 months ago (2 children)

"Top virologists raise alarm" ..... that didn't help last time. People and government won't take notice or want to take action until we see people with blood coming out of their eyes and dying in the streets, and even then, everyone will be more worried about the economy than in the body count.

[–] nao@sh.itjust.works 34 points 10 months ago (1 children)

at least worrying about the economy would be an improvement to just worrying about their personal freedom

[–] Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works 31 points 10 months ago (3 children)

They'll just ask the elderly to die again

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[–] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 21 points 10 months ago (4 children)

I need to watch 28 days later again.

[–] derin@lemmy.beru.co 16 points 10 months ago

Just in time for the sequel!

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[–] Krackalot@discuss.tchncs.de 110 points 10 months ago (5 children)

In the U.S., RFK has promised to personally consume every dead bird he finds on the side of the road.

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 20 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I knew there had to be at least one positive trait.

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[–] SarcasticMan@lemmy.world 92 points 10 months ago (9 children)

I have a buddy who is a virologist. He sends me shit all the time about bird flu. The gain of function tests on it is wild. Also, note that we have seen this shit coming since 2012

Fouchier, R.A.M., et al. (2012). "Airborne transmission of influenza A/H5N1 virus between ferrets."

Published in: Science

Summary: Demonstrated that a small number of mutations could allow H5N1 to spread via respiratory droplets in ferrets.

Link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1213362

Herfst, S., et al. (2012). "Airborne transmission of influenza A/H5N1 virus between ferrets."

Published in: Science (companion to Fouchier’s work)

Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22723413/

Imai, M., et al. (2012). "Experimental adaptation of an influenza H5 HA confers respiratory droplet transmission to a reassortant H5 HA/H1N1 virus in ferrets."

Published in: Nature

Summary: Kawaoka’s lab showed that reassortment of H5N1 with pandemic H1N1 genes could enable airborne spread in ferrets.

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10831

Zhang, Y., et al. (2013). "H5N1 hybrid viruses bearing 2009/H1N1 virus genes transmit in guinea pigs by respiratory droplet."

Published in: Science

Summary: Chinese researchers found that hybrid viruses combining H5N1 with H1N1 pandemic genes could spread between mammals.

Link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1243362

National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) Reports (2012).

Summary: Initially recommended redacting details of GoF studies due to bioterrorism concerns, later reversed.

Link: https://osp.od.nih.gov/biotechnology/nsabb-reports/

[–] ModestCrab@lemmy.wtf 26 points 10 months ago (1 children)

2012? Bird flu been warned about since 2005 at least in my memory

[–] SarcasticMan@lemmy.world 39 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The first case was in 1959 in Scotland. The first human case was in 1996 or 1997 in China. Then around 2002, there was an outbreak in SE Asia that caused alarm then in 2005 it spread by wild birds into Europe and triggered a big WHO warning. The first gain of function tests was in 2011 and 2012. My comment was about the gain of function tests. I probably could have worded it better

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[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 88 points 10 months ago (7 children)

I just hope it kills a lot more Nazi antivax idiots this time

[–] monotremata@lemmy.ca 57 points 10 months ago (1 children)

There will probably be some slant in that direction, but there'll be a much bigger slant towards killing the elderly, the immunocompromised, those who can't afford medical care and time off, etc. As usual.

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[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 71 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, and this time masks will be illegal.

[–] starman2112@sh.itjust.works 66 points 10 months ago

Meanwhile my country's most powerful public health official: "vaccines are dangerous because they train viruses to be stronger, we should instead simply infect as many birds as possible"

[–] boreengreen@lemm.ee 65 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Future historians will say that Donald the dumb was a plague spreader.

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 23 points 10 months ago

Im just worried how bad it can get. 90% fatalities to pregnant women, that high. That's not the COVID 1-2%

[–] Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Future historians? I like your optimism.

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[–] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

don't forget RFK Jr who suggested that people drink raw milk amidst an H5 breakout

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[–] slowmorella@discuss.tchncs.de 55 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Not now

[–] Zugyuk@lemmy.world 47 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Time to stop all testing immediately so that there are no cases

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[–] Chestnut@lemmy.world 42 points 10 months ago (3 children)

the case mortality rate is, by far, one of the worst we've ever seen for an influenza. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai_20250131.pdf
we already have a vaccine for it https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H5N1_vaccine
don't panic but be educated https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5CyVi4UzKxE

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 23 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Having a vaccine, and getting it sufficiently wide deployed under a known antivaxxer "health" minister are two different kinds of shoes.

And: The virus is currently trying to overcome species barriers, which might reduce an existing vaccine less useful. AFAIK you need a different vaccine for poultry than for cows, and some infections have made it across to humans, also AFAIK, from cows.

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[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 38 points 10 months ago (4 children)

The fucknut RFK will tell the AmeriKans to drink fish tank cleaner or bleach and shove a UV light down their throats. When this things slams into the USA, Krasnov will continue to fail.

[–] KingPorkChop@lemmy.ca 19 points 10 months ago (12 children)

I'm ok with this.

We've known about vaccines, germ theory, and virus for quite some time now. If they want to kill themselves because they choose to not follow the science, so be it. I'm tired of having this conversation with the wilfully and proudly ignorant tomato soup brained infants.

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[–] MoonlightFox@lemmy.world 26 points 10 months ago (11 children)

How to prepare for this shit again? I guess I can start by storing some masks, and a lot more food.

Any advice or thoughts? I can work from home fulltime, and grocery deliveries is possible.

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[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 26 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Thankfully the US has a president who is deeply experienced in pandemic management and bringing society together in common cause so I should manage ok. 😭

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[–] Etterra@discuss.online 25 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Don't worry, I'm sure Trump and his cultists will fuck this one up for us too.

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