HeartDoc Andrew wrote:
> Michael Ejercito wrote:
>
>> https://www.reddit.com/r/LockdownSkepticism/comments/1e8u798/has_the_next_pandemic_already_started/
>>
>> Has the next pandemic already started?
>> New cases of avian flu are raising alarm of a possible new pandemic. The
>> world urgently needs to prepare.
>>
>> Ayoade Alakija
>> Ayoade Alakija
>> Special Envoy for the Access to COVID19 Tools Accelerator
>> Published On 21 Jul 2024
>> 21 Jul 2024
>> Save articles to read later and create your own reading list.
>>
>> FILE PHOTO: A person holds a test tube labelled "Bird Flu", in this
>> picture illustration, January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Dado
>> Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
>> The United States has registered 10 cases of bird flu since April 2024
>> [File: Reuters/Dado Ruvic]
>> In mid-July, the US state of Colorado reported six cases of avian flu –
>> or H5N1 – in samples taken from poultry workers. This brought the
>> national total to 10 cases confirmed by the US Centers for Disease
>> Control and Prevention (CDC) since April 2024.
>>
>> The United States government has upped zoonotic/animal testing, and is
>> now discovering more cases of infection with the virus in cows and other
>> mammals. So far, it has reported H5N1 in more than 160 herds of cows.
>>
>> KEEP READING
>> list of 4 items
>> list 1 of 4
>> India’s hidden COVID deaths: Was the toll in 2020 eight times higher?
>> list 2 of 4
>> World leaders launch programme to boost vaccine production in Africa
>> list 3 of 4
>> US ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China’s COVID efforts: Report
>> list 4 of 4
>> Bangladesh’s ‘missing billionaires’: A wealth boom and stark inequality
>> end of list
>> The growing number of cases comes amid growing concern about the spread
>> of the virus, with a recent study published in the journal Nature
>> suggesting that the H5N1 found in cows may be more adaptable to humans.
>>
>> In response to this situation, the US government recently awarded a
>> $176m project to Moderna to support clinical trials for an mRNA vaccine
>> against the virus. Other countries are also becoming alert about these
>> developments, with Finland launching a vaccination drive aimed at
>> safeguarding the most at-risk communities from the disease.
>>
>> The increasingly frequent reports of new cases have caused some experts
>> to suggest that another pandemic situation may be on the horizon. While
>> that is by far not a certainty, we should still be prepared for it. Yet
>> the world’s readiness to respond to such health threats still appears
>> fragmented and inequitable. It should be worrying to us all that we
>> still do not have adequate tools for early detection and containment.
>>
>> What we know so far is that H5N1 is a fast-moving, rapidly evolving
>> virus that can cause severe illness and death. However, the lack of
>> diagnostic testing and genetic sequencing for humans and animals
>> obscures our understanding of how the virus is mutating and if there are
>> any potential mutations that may increase the likelihood of
>> human-to-human transmission. The lack of focus on surveillance and
>> investment in diagnostics is irresponsible.
>>
>> It is crucial to avoid repeating mistakes from the COVID-19 pandemic,
>> especially when dealing with H5N1, where the risks could be even greater
>> due to its high mortality rate. Over the past 20 years, fatal outcomes
>> have been reported in about 50 percent of known cases.
>>
>> It is likely that infections have been under-reported and
>> under-diagnosed due to limited testing capacity and so the mortality
>> rate may be lower. Furthermore, this rate would not necessarily be
>> replicated if the virus established itself in the human population.
>> Still, there is a risk that a H5N1 pandemic may be significantly
>> different from the COVID-19 one – and deadlier.
>>
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>>
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>>
>> The bad news is that at present, there are currently no commercially
>> available diagnostic tests to detect H5N1 specifically. Nucleic
>> acid-based (molecular) tests are the current gold standard for the
>> detection of influenza viruses, but they generally require lab
>> infrastructure to support their use. And even when such infrastructure
>> is available, it may not function fast enough. For example, when a sick
>> Australian girl was tested for bird flu in March, it took several weeks
>> to get the positive result back.
>>
>> As seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid tests that can provide a
>> result in around 10-15 minutes are a critical tool for outbreak
>> containment – even if they are less sensitive than molecular tests.
>> Investing in research and development that leads to quick, affordable
>> tests for H5N1 influenza can lay the foundation for preparedness.
>>
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>> Tests should be made available worldwide – including in low- and
>> middle-income countries – and prioritised in populations where there is
>> a likelihood of human exposure to the virus, like farms or veterinary
>> clinics.
>>
>> Scaling up the monitoring of bird and animal populations, training
>> personnel effectively, streamlining reporting mechanisms and utilising
>> cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence for speedy
>> analysis should all be priorities for governments. There also need to be
>> incentives to encourage at-risk populations, currently those working
>> with animals that are potentially sick, to test.
>>
>> Effective ongoing collaboration on developing and sharing treatments and
>> vaccines is equally essential. Partnerships, like the Access to COVID-19
>> Tools Accelerator – which includes health leaders from the World Health
>> Organization; the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND);
>> Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness
>> Innovations (CEPI) – should be used to encourage governments and
>> pharmaceutical groups to ensure the production of at-scale health
>> countermeasures and that they are available to all countries.
>>
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>>
>> This is not charity, it is investing in global public health to ensure
>> we are all protected. No country can stop a pandemic by itself.
>>
>> More than a million lives may have been lost during COVID-19 because of
>> inequity. We need to make sure this does not happen again. There needs
>> to be a focus on helping low- and middle-income countries gain access to
>> all the countermeasures needed to tackle the next pandemic.
>>
>> Action is needed now, while human-to-human transmission has still not
>> been detected, so that if and when it is, a rapid coordinated global
>> response to H5N1 can be deployed.
>>
>> The new cases in Colorado do not suggest the world is about to end, but
>> are a signal worth heeding. While the US and other Western countries are
>> able to take measures, poorer countries that do not have the resources
>> or access to technology cannot.
>>
>> This unequal situation not only threatens national health security but
>> also hinders the world’s ability to prevent an H5N1 pandemic if it is to
>> emerge. Global leaders must acknowledge the interconnectedness of health
>> systems and commit to distributing resources fairly.
>>
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>>
>> If H5N1 starts spreading from human to human and we are not prepared for
>> it, we will pay an unimaginable heavy price in terms of human lives and
>> livelihoods.
>
> In the interim, we are 100% prepared/protected in the "full armor of
> GOD" (Ephesians 6:11) which we put on as soon as we use Apostle Paul's
> secret (Philippians 4:12). Though masking is less protective, it helps
> us avoid the appearance of doing the evil of spreading airborne
> pathogens while there are people getting sick because of not being
> 100% protected. It is written that we're to "abstain from **all**
> appearance of doing evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22 w/**emphasis**).
>
> Meanwhile, the only *perfect* (Matt 5:47-8 ) way to eradicate the
> COVID-19 virus, thereby saving lives, in the US & elsewhere is by
> rapidly (i.e. use the "Rapid COVID-19 Test" ) finding out at any given
> moment, including even while on-line, who among us are unwittingly
> contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic) in order to
> "convince it forward" (John 15:12) for them to call their doctor and
> self-quarantine per their doctor in hopes of stopping this pandemic.
> Thus, we're hoping for the best while preparing for the worse-case
> scenario of the Alpha lineage mutations and others like the Omicron,
> Gamma, Beta, Epsilon, Iota, Lambda, Mu & Delta lineage mutations
> combining via slip-RNA-replication to form hybrids like "Deltamicron"
> that may render current COVID vaccines/monoclonals/medicines/pills no
> longer effective.
>
> Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry (
> https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/6ZoE95d-VKc/m/14vVZoyOBgAJ
> ) and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
>
> So how are you ?
>
I am wonderfully hungry!

Michael