(The Intelligencer) Almost three years after COVID-19 rolled across America, the virus has never felt like less of a daily menace. But don’t worry: The possibility of another global pandemic is never very far off. Avian flu, specifically the H5N1 strain, has spread widely among bird populations and other animals in the last couple years. More concerning for humans, it tore through a Spanish mink farm in October — a disquieting event not only because the virus doesn’t usually spread among mammals, but because minks, who have upper-respiratory tracts similar to humans, are often susceptible to the same kinds of viruses as us. No people were infected during the great mink outbreak of ’22, but the episode has made many virologists even more nervous than usual. So is avian flu really the next global menace? I spoke with Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and data scientist who gained a significant following with her Twitter account and newsletter during COVID, about the current risk and why another pandemic soon is inevitable.
What Fresh Hell Is the New Bird-Flu Outbreak?
