5 ms·
It’s interesting to compare this to the beginning of the Covid pandemic. We’ve been able to pretty effectively track H5N1 as it hops between animal populations
by wumeow 2y ago
It’s interesting to compare this to the beginning of the Covid pandemic. We’ve been able to pretty effectively track H5N1 as it hops between animal populations and some humans, whereas Covid came out of nowhere.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- gatkinso 2y agoTracking was available by Jan 2020 at the latest
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- cogman10 2y agoThe difference is H5N1 infections have mostly happened in predictable and (importantly) rural places. That is, among people working directly with the animals impacted. Covid, on the other hand, had few precursors and hit in a population dense area (Wuhan). It does not help that for a fairly significant portion of the population covid was near symptomless. H5N1 has been much more severe when it hits humans. That said, it's not impossible that a variant of H5N1 that escapes will do so because it's more covid like in that it doesn't look or act much worse than a common flu in the first few infected.
- m3047 2y agoCovid, or its immediate analogues, were extensively studied in a lab in Wuhan for exactly this reason. When it became the "Covid" we all know and love then it was a thing and not a precursor. H5N1 today is a precursor. How would we know whether the strain which finally goes "viral" in humans is a product of "natural" washing or was done in a lab with humanized mouse cells?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- tim333 2y agoIt's impressive what you can do with open science as opposed to secretive lab cock ups.