A new outbreak of a highly contagious virus
"dangerously close" to triggering an outbreak.
And it could be 100 times worse than the New Crown.
Even the World Health Organisation has issued a warning!
Australia is now the only place
Australia is currently the only place where the virus has not appeared.
However, the danger is also approaching...
At this dairy farm in Texas, a worker has been diagnosed with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, suspected to have been infected by a cow.
Because also confirmed infected are 12 other herds in six states!
Multiple cases of mammalian infections, including cattle, cats, and more recently, humans, all increase the risk that the virus will mutate and become more transmissible.
In particular, humans can be infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu!
All cases are showing that the H5N1 strain of bird flu has crossed the barrier between birds and mammals, and even humans.
Five of those farms are in Texas, as well as farms in New Mexico, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho and Kansas.
The cows in Iowa are being tested.
Infected cows are showing symptoms such as lethargy, reduced food intake and reduced milk production. But they did not die from the infection.
In the UK, a December report showed that four samples from infected otters and foxes "showed the presence of a mutation associated with a potential advantage in mammalian infection".
This means that the virus may be more easily transmitted to humans.
This is why the WHO has issued a global warning...
People are being strongly urged not to come into contact with sick or dead birds because the virus is deadly, with a lethality rate of up to 56 per cent.
Common symptoms of bird flu in humans are similar to those of other forms of flu, such as high fever, cough, fatigue and muscle aches. Depending on the type of bird flu, other symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, conjunctivitis, diarrhoea or vomiting may also occur.
The threat posed to Australia by the H5N1 strain of bird flu is also looming...
An Antarctic expedition conducted by the Australian Federal University in March turned up at least 532 dead penguins.
The remains have not yet been counted in full, but it is assumed that thousands of penguins have died.
Scientists suspect that the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus is to blame, and samples are being sent back to the lab for testing.
The H5N1 avian influenza virus arrived in South America in 2022, spreading through wildlife at a faster rate than ever before, and made its first incursion into Antarctica in February of this year, confirming the first case of H5N1.