'ELEVATED RISK' New pandemic fears as UK health officials declare ‘level 4’ bird flu outbreak after virus jumped from cows to humans

Submitted by Dave Hodges on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - 22:49.
BIRD FLU
The UK is now poised to launch a "public health response" to the new deadly strain

HEALTH officials have raised the pandemic risk of bird flu from three to four on a six-tier scale after the virus jumped to cows and then humans.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says: "There is high uncertainty regarding the trajectory of the outbreak and there is no apparent reduction in transmission in response to the biosecurity measures that have been introduced to date."

To make sure the country is prepared for a possible outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 in humans, officials monitor its spread and assess its risk.

This move comes after four dairy workers in the US tested positive for the bug in a scary advancement that saw the virus jump from birds to cows, spread between them and end up in humans.

To become a pandemic, a virus needs to be able to infect humans easily and spread among them.

So far, there is no evidence that bird flu can be transmitted between people.

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