Opinion | The U.S. Response to Bird Flu is Not Reassuring the World
As a virus scientist in South Africa, I’ve been watching with dread as H5N1 bird flu spreads among animals in the United States.The pathogen poses a serious pandemic threat and has been detected in over 500 dairy herds in 15 states — which is probably an undercount.
And yet, the U.S.response appears inadequate and slow, with too few genomic sequences of H5N1 cases in farm animals made publicly available for scientific review.Failure to control H5N1 among American livestock could have global consequences, and this demands urgent attention.
The United States has done little to reassure the world that it has the outbreak contained.The recent infection of a pig at a farm in Oregon is especially concerning as pigs are known to be “mixing bowls” for influenza viruses.Pigs can be infected by both avian and human influenza viruses, creating a risk for the viruses to exchange genetic material and potentially speed up adaptation for human transmission.
The H1N1 pandemic in 2009 was created and spread initially by pigs.Beyond the risks to its own citizens (there are over 45 cases of people in the United States getting the virus in 2024), the United States should remember that the country where a pandemic emerges can be accused of not doing enough to control it.We still hear how China did not do enough to stop the Covid-19 pandemic.
None of us would want a new pandemic labeled the “American virus,” as this could be very damaging for the United States’ reputation and economy.The United States should learn from how the global south responds to infectious diseases.Those of us working in the region have a good track record of responding to epidemics and emerging pandemics, and can help the United States identify new virus strains and offer insights into how to control H5N1.
This knowledge has not come easily or without suffering; it has developed from decades of dealing with deadly diseases.We’ve learned one simple lesson: You need to learn your enemy as quick...