H5N1 Avian Flu aka. HPAI

“It’s really about folks who are in environments where they may be interacting with cattle that are infected with this virus,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The risk for most everyone else is very low,” he added. “Right now, our risk assessment hasn’t changed, but if it does change, we’re going be pretty quick and pretty transparent about that.”

In a joint report released today, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) outline the contributing drivers for influenza A(H5N1) viruses to acquire the ability to spread efficiently among humans, thereby increasing their pandemic potential. The report also addresses which mitigation measures could be implemented in animals and humans to reduce the risk to human health.