![]() Since 2005, scientists have reported more than 18,600 outbreaks of bird flu to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). We're not even at the peak of bird flu season just yet "It does look like this one is a bit nastier, and a little bit more able to cause severe disease in these scavenging mammals," he told Insider, explaining that there is often a "large amount of virus" found in the brains of mammals who've died with H5N1. Jude Children's Research Hospital, says "there does seem to be an increase" in the sheer number of mammals across the US and Europe getting severely ill with this particular bird flu. Leading bird flu expert Richard Webby, an infectious disease researcher at St. Many of the mammals that have contracted bird flu feast on wild birds, or come in contact with them regularly in the wild. In the US, the virus has been found in at least 16 mammal species including red foxes, skunks, raccoons, and even a bottlenose dolphin and black bear. Mammal-to-mammal transmission of H5N1 was recently recorded between mink on a farm in Spain, and the virus has also likely been transmitted between seals in the US, suggesting that it's possible this virus could be a few key genetic changes away from something with pandemic potential for people. ![]()
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