The bird flu virus, currently spreading among wild birds, poultry, and some mammals, could spark a pandemic even more severe than COVID-19 if it mutates to transmit between humans, experts at France’s Institut Pasteur warn.
Marie-Anne Rameix-Welti, medical director at the Institut Pasteur’s respiratory infections center, emphasized that humans have no antibodies against the H5 bird flu strain, making populations highly vulnerable—similar to the early days of COVID-19.
Unlike seasonal flu, which mainly threatens the elderly or vulnerable, bird flu viruses can severely impact healthy individuals, including children. “A human-adapted bird flu could be extremely severe,” Rameix-Welti noted.
Though human cases remain rare, infections have occurred in people closely exposed to infected animals. Recently, the US reported its first H5N5 human case, resulting in a fatality. Historically, from 2003 to 2025, nearly 1,000 human bird flu cases were recorded worldwide, with a death rate of around 48%, particularly in Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Despite these concerns, experts say the immediate risk of a global pandemic is low. Gregorio Torres, head of Science at the World Organisation for Animal Health, reassured the public: “You can safely enjoy chicken, eggs, and nature. Pandemic risk exists, but its probability remains low.”
Rameix-Welti highlighted a silver lining: global preparedness is far stronger than before COVID-19. Vaccine candidates exist, antivirals are stocked, and rapid manufacturing protocols are ready, giving the world tools to respond quickly if the virus mutates for human-to-human transmission.
#BirdFlu #H5Virus #PandemicAlert #PublicHealth #FluVirus #VirusMutation #GlobalHealth
