New Bird flu in Mink :remember the mink farm escape In OH at the hand of PETA? was this why they did it , H5N1??

New bird flu pandemic fears as top virologists sound alarm over 'worrisome' spread of killer virus in mink - and say it raises chilling prospect that H5N1 could jump to humans and sweep planet


Top virologists alarmed after bird flu strain H5N1 spreads between mammals

Outbreak occurred in a farm in Spain in October which housed 52,000 mink

It raises prospect it could acquire mutations to spread easier among humans


Fears of a potentially devastating bird flu pandemic were heightened today after a 'worrisome' outbreak among mink.

Top virologists from across the world have sounded the alarm after tests confirmed the H5N1 strain was spreading between mammals.

It raises the prospect that the pathogen could acquire troublesome mutations that allow it to spread much easier between humans, helping it clear the biggest hurdle that has stopped it from sweeping the world.


Professor Rupert Beale, an immunology expert at the world-renowned Francis Crick Institute in London, said: 'We should have vaccine contingency plans already.'

And Professor Isabella Eckerle, a virologist at the University of Geneva's Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases, called the findings 'really worrisome'.

Other experts warned that outbreaks among mink could lead to a recombination event — when two viruses switch genetic material to make a new hybrid.

A similar process is thought to have caused the global 2009 swine flu crisis that infected millions across the planet.

The same biological phenomenon was also seen during the Covid pandemic, such as so-called Deltacron — a recombination of Delta and Omicron, first detected in France last February.

For decades, scientists have warned that bird flu is the most likely contender for triggering the next pandemic.

Experts say this is because of the threat of recombination — with high levels of human flu strains raising the risk of a human becoming co-infected with avian flu as well.

This could see a deadly strain of bird flu merge with a transmissible seasonal flu.

The mink outbreak occurred in a farm in Galicia, north west Spain, in October which housed 52,000 of the animals.

It was only spotted after a sudden surge in the animals dying. Up to four per cent died in one week during the course of the outbreak, which was declared over by mid-November.




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