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The world is watching the US deal with bird flu, and it is scary
The US needs to reassure the world it has the outbreak under control.
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Failure to control H5N1 among American livestock could have global consequences.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Tulio de Oliveira
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As a virus scientist in South Africa, I’ve been watching with dread as H5N1 bird flu spreads among animals in the United States. The pathogen poses a serious pandemic threat and has been detected in more than 500 dairy herds in 15 states – which is probably an undercount. And yet, the US response appears inadequate and slow, with too few genomic sequences of H5N1 cases in farm animals made publicly available for scientific review.
Failure to control H5N1 among American livestock could have global consequences, and this demands urgent attention. The US has done little to reassure the world that it has the outbreak contained.
