(UnitedVoice.com) – Former President Donald Trump appointed Dr. Robert Redfield to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2018. He served in the position throughout the first year of the global health crisis and until President Joe Biden’s inauguration. Recently, he made a frightening prediction about the bird flu.
On June 15, Redfield appeared on NewsNation to discuss the A(H5N1) virus that’s been detected in cattle across the country. The CDC has posted regular updates about the multistate outbreak of bird flu and is working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). There have been three farmworkers infected with the virus in the US. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the first human death related to the virus this month in Mexico.
In the interview on NewsNation, Redfield said he believes the US “will have a bird flu pandemic.” He went on to say there’s a “significant mortality” rate when the disease infects humans, compared to the previous global health crisis. The former CDC director predicted, “probably somewhere between 25 and 50 percent mortality.”
There are currently no cases of the A(H5N1) virus spreading between humans. Redfield said that he has done lab research on it and knows that five amino acids have to change in the key receptor to get it to the point where it spreads from one human to another.
Redfield explained that once the virus is able to change those acids and attach to a human receptor, there will be a possibility of a pandemic. He just doesn’t know how long that will take.
The CDC has reported the risk to the general public is currently low. The agency is testing wastewater treatment sites to find where the virus has spread. The three human cases are not related to one another and spread from infected cows. The health agency recommends people avoid exposure to dead or sick animals and animal feces. They should also avoid drinking raw, unpasteurized milk.
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