The world is Watching the US deal With bird flu, and itis scary

The US needs to reassure the world it has the outbreak under control.

- Tulio de Oliveira

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 more than 500 dairy herds in 15 states - which is probably an undercount. And yet, the US 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 US 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 more than 45 cases of people in the US getting the virus in 2024), America 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 labelled the "American virus", as this could be very damaging for the US' reputation and economy.