2 weeks after a predator was elected president, we now have to worry about bird flu

An outbreak of bird flu has swept across a number of states in the U.S., with one confirmed case in Canada. The CDC is already terming the situation a “public health challenge,” so that’s fun.

The notable cases of the spread of the influenza include a young patient in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. The child is showing mild symptoms including muscle aches, coughing, and a runny nose, was tested for H5N1, and was initially found positive. Days later, however, the patient was found to be negative, and the patient’s family was also found to be negative. The CDC is thankfully still monitoring the situation.

That particular patient had no contact with any infected animal. The director of the California Department of Public Health also assured parents that, based on the information they have collected so far, they do not believe the patient was infectious. That being said, the patient’s close contacts were still provided with preventative medicine.

Bird flu, scientifically known as H5, has nine known subtypes. It’s an avian influenza that can spread amongst various species, including cows and birds, but sometimes, albeit rarely, crosses over into humans. At this current moment, farm workers are the most at high risk of contracting the virus due to their close proximity to animals. Right now, there are 53 known cases of the virus across seven states. Additionally, there’s also a solitary case in Canada. The patient in Canada is a teenager who, prior to contracting the virus, had no preconditions yet was adversely affected by the virus. The British Columbia provincial health officer alerted the public that this virus progresses rapidly among young people.

This public health challenge, of course, comes at a very precarious time where Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated as Health Secretary, which opens a whole can of worms. Only recently, The New Republic reported a story about a video of him that has surfaced online where he questions whether the COVID-19 pandemic was planned from the outset and drew parallels between the 2020 vaccination efforts and Nazi testing on “Gypsies and Jews.” So it’s safe to say that with unserious minds like this at the helm of the health sector, we’re nowhere near ready to deal with another global medical pandemic.

Dr. Ian Lipkin, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, told TODAY that, “Emerging infectious diseases are unpredictable. If you told me 20 years ago that we were going to have major problems with coronaviruses, I wouldn’t have predicted that.” That being said, experts shared with TODAY that it’s unlikely to grow into a global pandemic. Apparently, it doesn’t spread across people quite as quickly as a disease that could cause a pandemic usually can. So currently, the experts do not expect this situation to lead to another lockdown wherein humanity has to figure out how to reimagine and reinvent our way of making ends meet.

Experts suggest that this might be a good time to skip any upcoming zoo trips, and if you’ve already caught the influenza virus, experts suggest that you immediately start taking oseltamivir, also known as Tamiflu. As always, and especially when in doubt, it is best to confer with your doctor before making any major medical decisions.