Most human cases of H5N1 virus (incorrectly still often called Avian or Bird Flu) are due to catching the virus from an infected animal—in the past birds, but in recent years birds and lots of mammal species that now get and spread the virus. But a person in Missouri who had no known contact with any animals that had the virus, just people, is now infected with the deadly H5N1 virus.
If this is a case of human to human transmitted H5N1, this could be the start of a disastrous pandemic. Historically, H5N1 has been 60% lethal, but the virus has gone through many mutations in recent years and lethality rates can change as a result.
The Center for Disease Control immediately reported that H5N1 is still a “low risk.” Collapse Survival experts regard this as an irresponsible lie. The H5N1 virus continues to mutate rapidly and is present in lots of mammals and increasingly some humans, where it is ideally situated to mutate into a human to human transmissible variant. It may be all natural mutations, but it is also possible that a country or terrorist group or individual is deliberately working to make the virus human to human transmissible, like other influenza viruses. This could yield the worst pandemic and the worst disaster in the history of our species. Since this case appears to be from a person who got it from another person rather than an infected animal, the CDC should be sounding an alert, not assuming, hoping that this is not a human transmissible version of the virus.
H5N1 should not be called “bird flu” or “Avian Flu.” It ceased being just a bird flu many years ago—it spreads in dozens of mammal populations around the world now. The U.S. funded “gain of function” research a decade ago on how to make H5N1 spread through the air between ferrets, mammals selected because they have respiratory systems very similar to humans. The experiments were a success—and the results including how they did it were published. The knowledge of how to develop and collect mammal to mammal transmissible H5N1 is well known, and there is far more capable bioengineering technology today like CRISPR.
Because of this research and advances in biotechnology, the former Director of the CDC has condemned this gain of function research and warned that a human bioengineered H5N1 virus is likely to cause a horribly deadly pandemic. But the current CDC staff continues to provide irresponsible assurances that this is “low risk” and nothing to worry about. Other experts not politically constrained regard H5N1 as an inevitable, disastrous pandemic that we are not prepared for and cannot avoid.
Some country, terrorist group, or individual will probably make and release a deadly variant of H5N1 or other new virus. The Johns Hopkins University has run government exercises on this, and a Collapse Survival App weekly training exercise covered this a few months ago. The Lessons Learned Podcast on this scenario can be watched here:
Rather than calling this “low risk,” the mutating, spreading H5N1 virus should be regarded as perhaps the greatest threat we face today. Governments and families should be getting prepared for a pandemic that could last for over a year, shutting down economic activity and yielding widespread loss of law and order, and a collapse that could kill hundreds of millions or billions (more likely dying from starvation and marauding than the virus).
When we see additional information that suggests a human to human version of H5N1 is spreading we will issue a threat alert (not a “Preparedness News” item like this) that will push through to your phone. If you see a notice on your App of a Collapse Survivor alert, open it ASAP. The CDC will likely continue to provide false, calming assurances not to worry until the pandemic is well underway.
