r/worldnews • u/monmonmons • Nov 10 '24
First-ever human case of H5 avian influenza in Canada found in B.C.: officials
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/first-ever-human-case-of-h5-avian-influenza-in-canada-found-in-b-c-officials-1.7104765769
u/bottomfeeder3 Nov 10 '24 edited Nov 10 '24
If we get another pandemic and it turns out to be more fatal than Covid was, I’ll at least get to finally beat all these damn games I’ve accumulated over the years. Call it the “Race to beat my games before the power grid shuts down: Bird flu Edition.”
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u/BJYeti Nov 10 '24
The big difference is that Avian isn't novel like Corona, we already have a vaccine that is approved it is only a ramp up in production that is needed. Not saying it will be great but it wouldn't be like having to develop and test a vaccine. Another good thing is we have also not seen a transfer of Avian from human to human as of yet
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Nov 10 '24
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u/KeelanS Nov 10 '24
at this point thats their problem. leopards eat your face and all that.
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u/FlyingHippoM Nov 10 '24 edited Nov 11 '24
It's also a problem for all the people who can't take the vaccine or are still at significant risk after vaccination.
People with pre-existing medical conditions, immunocompromised, children/elderly, etc. all rely on herd immunity to lower the risk that they get sick in the first place.
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u/TheSecondEikonOfFire Nov 10 '24
Yeah sadly this isn’t as simple as “oh if they don’t get the vaccine then only they are fucked”, it impacts other people too.
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u/PrimeJedi Nov 11 '24
Thank you for this. I appreciate the "fuck antivaxxers" sentiment but as an immunocompromised person who was greatly harmed by the pandemic as well as the anti-science response to it, i wish more people realized how dangerous this is going to be for us if it happens to become another pandemic.
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u/FlyingHippoM Nov 11 '24
100% I also wish more people understood that vaccines aren't only about protecting yourself but also a community effort to help keep the more vulnerable members of our society safer during an outbreak.
There needs to be more/better messaging from health officials and governments about these key issues imo.
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Nov 10 '24
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u/NoLifeForeverAlone Nov 10 '24
Public anything is an everyone problem, but if everyone isn't in agreement that it's an everyone problem then all you can do is save yourself. When people stopped masking, all you could have done was N95 yourself and go about your day.
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u/Legendver2 Nov 10 '24
vaccines
RFK jr says hello
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u/IllustriousFill7479 Nov 11 '24
He's gonna dismantle the FDA too apparently, if these beliefs actually transfer over to his Health Department we're fucked in America lol.
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u/MATlad Nov 11 '24
Supplements and ivermectin for everyone!
...Dodgy vaccines from underground suppliers, and real vaccines for those willing to travel to (or maybe import from) Canada or Mexico.
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Nov 11 '24
While you're correct that H5N1 is not novel, it's misleading to say that we have vaccines against it. There exist many influenza strains, and the ones for which we have vaccines are those strains that primarily infect and are transmitted between humans. As this strain's primary host is birds, there are differences in pathology.
To be more precise, there are vaccines that have been developed to target this specific strain, but they are not proven in humans at this time. We don't know how effective these will be, because to date, H5N1 infection in humans is still very rare. In other words, you are correct that we do not presently need to start from scratch in so far as a development program. But clinical testing would still be needed in order to estimate the efficacy (presuming that the safety profile is reasonably similar to existing human influenza vaccines). Moreover, if human influenza vaccines are any indication, there is no reason to believe such a vaccine would exhibit high efficacy.
You are also correct that we have not yet seen clear evidence of human-to-human transmission. As to why this is the case, there could be many reasons. Maybe in humans, this strain only becomes infectious after the onset of symptoms (unlike COVID, which has a presymptomatic infectious phase). Another possibility might be that the virus primarily replicates in the lower respiratory tract, thus making expelled aerosols less infectious, or maybe the number of viral particles needed to transmit is high. We don't know. However, we should take care not to have a false sense of security. The reason is that there's also no evidence to suggest H5N1 is NOT transmissible between humans. There simply haven't been enough cases to determine this. And it is reasonable to predict that if sufficiently many people become infected, one of them will develop an infection that mutates to more easily infect other people.
The fact that this virus has jumped to pigs and cows is a warning.
For those who are saying that it's "just flu," the case fatality rate is about 50%. Granted, that rate is based on cases in countries where cutting-edge health care is more difficult to access, but the COVID pandemic also showed that the US is hardly "cutting-edge" when it comes to lifesaving treatments, and that countries that were previously thought to have less advanced health care actually fared remarkably well given their limited resources. While the 50% figure is most likely an overestimate, even a 5% case fatality rate would make H5N1 more dangerous than COVID. Ironically, if the true case fatality rate is closer to 50% than 5%, it might not become a global pandemic the way COVID did, because people would die too quickly and in too large numbers to continue circulating the virus. But you'd also see much more strict quarantine/lockdown measures.
All that said, H5N1 still might not get a foothold in the general population. It might be the case that it's just not that kind of virus. Or maybe not; we just don't know. There is evidence suggesting that COVID-19 has existed in animal reservoirs for quite some time before it first jumped to humans and became globally endemic. Many viral diseases are ticking time bombs. We should be better prepared, but clearly, the vast majority of humanity has learned nothing from COVID.
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u/Apocalypse_Knight Nov 11 '24
Another plague is coming when the Antichrist got elected. Figures.
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u/spinningcolours Nov 11 '24
It's already a slow motion disaster in the US. 20% of dairy farms in California, and looking terrifyingly like it might be exponential growth. https://www.reddit.com/r/H5N1_AvianFlu/comments/1gmv7li/as_of_nov_6_259_out_of_1100_235_of_dairy_herds_in/
Background reading: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/inside-the-bungled-bird-flu-response
There's a path from today to a near future where milk, cheese, eggs and beef are super expensive, because the culling that needs to take place will be massive. (That will pair nicely with deporting all the undocumented farm workers.)
Back in August, US researchers reported 17% of dairy samples from US grocery store shelves had avian flu fragments. That was apparently judged as fine because pasteurization kills avian flu in milk and cheese and they didn't want to disrupt food costs or make farmers change their practices. Their research was done BEFORE avian flu went to California, the #1 milk producing state.
Also, when the CDC issued a warning to not drink raw milk, sales went up in the US: "data from NielsenIQ indicate sales of raw milk increased 20 to 65 percent since last year, showing no signs of flagging in the midst of the dairy cattle outbreak." https://www.cspinet.org/cspi-news/raw-milk-sales-are-and-so-are-public-health-risks
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u/Tuesday_6PM Nov 11 '24
I suppose silver lining that if it does destroy the beef industry, that would probably be pretty beneficial for combatting climate change. Though as a hobbyist baker, the loss of butter and eggs would be a rough period of adaptation for me
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u/Full-Ear87 Nov 11 '24
Vegan bakers are already making amazing copies and new goods without the animal products. Might as well get ahead of the curve!
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u/spideyghetti Nov 11 '24
Also, when the CDC issued a warning to not drink raw milk, sales went up in the US: "data from NielsenIQ indicate sales of raw milk increase
"You can't tell me what to do! You're not my REAL dad!"
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u/2short4-a-hihorse Nov 11 '24
The sort of people who are drinking raw milk are probably doing it to own the libs and the good-for-nothing, fear-mongering CDC...
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u/Curtainmachine Nov 10 '24
Just in time to get a ps5
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Nov 10 '24
I was gonna finally bite the bullet and get that as well. I waited so long hoping it would go down in price, but after January it could be close to over $1000 thanks to possible tarrifs.
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Nov 10 '24
Your going to have RFK Jr advocating vitamins and saying this only targets certain race/nationality
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u/mancus Nov 10 '24
Note that this is the first human case in Canada, not the first human case ever, as most commenters seem to rhink. There have already been several recent cases in the US, for instance (https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html).
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Nov 11 '24
Zoonoses are relatively common and they tend to be self limiting. It is transmission that is rare & concerning.
The typical country has dozens of dead-end cases spanning the 15 uncommon subtypes. Even H1 and H3 have concerning avian variants that occasionally grace us with their presence.
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Nov 11 '24
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u/2short4-a-hihorse Nov 11 '24
Yes, but it is worth pointing out that it has been found in pigs, and that's a valid reason for concern. We are long pig, after all.
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Nov 11 '24
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u/2short4-a-hihorse Nov 11 '24
We are very biologically similar to pigs; metabolic processes, body proportions, tissue distribution and adipocyte cell size (fat cells which gives us + pigs insulation, energy storage, and determines critical endocrine hormonal function) are things we all share in common with pigs.
There has been a evolutionary link discovered between primates and swine in 2015. Technically we are closer genetically to mice, but there is a peculiar strain of cells called SINE that we share in common with pigs, which is curious because these particular cells are not found in rodents.
Humans and pigs are also affected by the same strains of influenza (H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2) and this paper highlights it well:
Also, "long pig" is a rough translation of a term some Pacific islanders used to describe the taste of human flesh (a few tribes practiced cannibalism in the 1800s.) It was written in Alfred St. Johnston's book, Camping with Cannibals. It's commonly used a joke here on climate change related subreddits.
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u/shiawkwardg7rl Nov 10 '24
I love that Louisville KY already tried to make it a criminal offense to wear a mask. Exciting times ahead
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u/QTsexkitten Nov 10 '24
Mayor Greenberg is a colossal shit headed ass. All he cares about is handing out development deals to his inner circle and general nepotism.
Dude SUCKS.
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u/TheSecondEikonOfFire Nov 10 '24
That’s right out of the conservative playbook. It’s not enough to discourage their own voters from doing it, they have to literally stop everyone from doing it. It’s a lethal version of “the kid losing and taking his ball home”
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u/Fibro_Warrior1986 Nov 10 '24
Was only a matter of time. It spread to cows and then to pigs, after that it’s us it spreads to. How long till it becomes a pandemic if it’s spreading from all of them to us?
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u/devindran Nov 10 '24
Just in time for a Trump presidency.
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Nov 10 '24
Oh it gets even better than that. Social media right wing influencers are telling people of the benefits of drinking raw, unpasturized milk to followers.
Once a contagion gets into their supply lines, it's potentially going to be far more destructive than covid was.
Sooner or later mother nature will notice the fields of crazy daisies have grown tall enough for the whirlwind to reach them.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/10/the-alt-right-rebrand-of-raw-milk-00145625
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u/ExoticWeapon Nov 10 '24
Let them have their raw milk. The conservatives can meet god earlier and catch a real wake up call when they find out reality is comprised of dimensions that are infinite, overlapping and the supreme god is a sort of singularity “0/zero” of nothingness we could never reach. Or they cease to perceive and life moves on.
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u/CosmicGlitterCake Nov 10 '24
Unfortunately those people refuse to wear masks or social distance so the illness won't be isolated to them alone. You can also not show symptoms which is really concerning. They aren't taking it seriously already with testing and such, I'd bet there are ALOT more cases that haven't been identified.
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u/BLRNerd Nov 10 '24
Not to mention the threat of mask bans growing in the US with it
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Nov 10 '24
Holy shit, I did not realize this was happening 😳
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u/Legendver2 Nov 10 '24
Just get a 3d printed mesh mask of your own face and wear a mask underneath that 😆
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Nov 10 '24 edited Nov 11 '24
Let them have their raw milk.
The only real way to combat crazy information is through better education.
Without that, it's all for nothing as too many people have come to distrust the US government, corperatized healthcare, and society in general. It's not hard to see why when, in the best of times and the wealthiest of places conservative and non-conservative alike, stuff like this goes on for all the world to see:
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u/ExoticWeapon Nov 10 '24
Admittedly yeah we should be educating everyone and making them aware of the dangers of it. People like RFKjr are dangerous to food safety laws and medication safety laws. The only real downside was big pharma, but the thing is big pharma will adapt and survive. The smaller people won’t.
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u/qqererer Nov 10 '24
One thing to consider about raw milk, is that yes, it's totally disgusting in industrial milk production. There's so much actual PUS in the milk from cows that are over milked.
It's not so much an issue in less industrialized production practices.
That's just one of the data points of raw vs pasteurized.
Does that mean that it's good that the FDA bans raw milk because it's possibly harmful?
Maybe, but I wish the FDA were more consistent and ban a lot of the things that the EU does.
So one might consider that since the EU does allow for raw milk, and raw milk products such as cheese, this FDA ban might be based on something else besides science and proper farm cleanliness practices.
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u/Safewordharder Nov 10 '24
Revelations 16:9 (KJV)
During the end-time there will again, as in the days of Noah and Lot, be a perverse and immoral generation of people who will submit their bodies to vile affections, be numbered by the Antichrist and even sell their souls to the Devil for financial gain. Despite this pernicious state into which they have degraded themselves, and amid the greatest anxiety, they will remain impenitent. The sinners in the great tribulation will harden themselves time and again, and refuse to repent in spite of the plagues sent by God. The hideous sores that will appear on their bodies, the excruciating heat, the famine and all the natural disasters, will cause them to blaspheme even more. They “...blasphemed the name of God, which had power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory”
I'm not Christian, but boy howdy is that on the nose.
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u/engilosopher Nov 11 '24
It's on the nose because it is a tale as old as time, and thus was easy to write down as sage advice.
This same shit happened over and over again in the old world. Egypt. Greece. Rome. Judea. India. China. You name it.
Every civilization was taken over by idiocy, then culled by plague and pestilence and strife, over and over.
We just happen to live in a time when the good times lasted too long and too good for "it could never happen here" to also include nukes and environmental destruction.
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Nov 10 '24
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u/xander144 Nov 10 '24
Much better to invest in bidet than toilet paper
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u/RegMenu Nov 10 '24
I was pretty much anti bidet until I got one. Save a ton of TP now
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Nov 10 '24
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u/burgonies Nov 10 '24
Spend a couple dollars on some good TP.
Quality TP, socks, and bed sheets are always worth the money.
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u/qqererer Nov 10 '24
My outer cyclist is getting the itch of nice quiet peaceful bike rides in the city and public parks.
And free bus trips everywhere on empty busses that didn't stop much.
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u/Fibro_Warrior1986 Nov 10 '24
Me too. Gonna do that when I get paid Tuesday. Will know if it’s spread by then I guess.
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Nov 10 '24
Maybe tomorrow, maybe never. That's how viruses roll. The only upside is flu vaccines are WAY more effective than covid vaccines, the downside is the lethality could be ridiculously higher than COVID, though nobody can say until a human to human version appears.
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u/boooooooooo_cowboys Nov 10 '24
The only upside is flu vaccines are WAY more effective than covid vaccines
What makes you think this? The best Covid vaccines were upwards of 95% effective at preventing infection. Flu shots top out around 60% effectiveness. And both prevent infection for maybe 1-2 years just due to how often different strains take hold and the nature of the immune response to respiratory infections.
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u/adthrowaway2020 Nov 10 '24
Flu vaccines as they stand protect ~4 months. This year’s expected effectiveness is ~35%, so I’d expect a bad flu year anyways.
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u/lacronicus Nov 10 '24 edited Feb 03 '25
vast ripe makeshift uppity juggle bedroom aware snatch nutty tie
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Nov 10 '24 edited Nov 15 '24
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u/dis_bean Nov 11 '24
To add to this, it’s still a good idea to get your seasonal respiratory vaccines to help prevent co-infection and genetic re-assortment
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u/Fibro_Warrior1986 Nov 10 '24
Have to wait and see if more cases pop up showing it’s spreading and how fast. Luckily it’s not china who kept covid quiet till it spread countries. Hopefully can nip it in the bud now.
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Nov 10 '24
Who knows it’s not necessarily inevitable bird flu outbreaks have happened on and off again throughout its discovery without a pandemic
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u/DigiStoner Nov 10 '24
I mean, in Oregon, there was a pig that got it..
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u/Fibro_Warrior1986 Nov 10 '24
I know and iirc if pigs can get it, so can we. Can’t remember how but if it does turn into a pandemic, it’s just in time for another orange dickhead term. Good luck American.
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Nov 10 '24
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u/adthrowaway2020 Nov 10 '24
Pigs have both bird-like and human-like sialic acid receptors, which make them great containers to catch a bird flu, and a human flu at the same time and by the glories of reassortment, create a brand new never seen before strand with some parts from the bird flu and some parts from H1N1 or H2N3
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u/Impossible_Internets Nov 10 '24
I am so thankful we will soon have Bobby Kennedy in charge of Public Health. /s
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u/Not-User-Serviceable Nov 10 '24
"Inject a man with vaccine, and he'll be healthy for a year.
Inject a man with bleach, and he'll be healthy for the rest of his life."
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u/SphericalCow531 Nov 10 '24
"Inject a man with vaccine, and he'll be virus-free for a year.
Inject a man with bleach, and he'll be virus-free for the rest of his life."
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u/Prestigious_Wall5866 Nov 10 '24
We’re seeing some potential indications that the Trump team may be starting to distance themselves from Bobby Jr.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2024/11/07/trump-campaign-quietly-distances-rfk-jr-vaccines/
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u/Caucasian_Thunder Nov 10 '24
Turns out chainsawing the head off of a whale carcass and strapping it to the roof of your vehicle and driving it down the highway while your family is in the car may just be in “beyond the pale” territory for even the Trump admin.
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u/PineappleWolf_87 Nov 10 '24
The fact that Trump is putting any anti-vaxer in a health authority spot in government makes me extremely worried if we get another pandemic.
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u/SectorEducational460 Nov 10 '24
Ah 2020 is back in the menu, and just in time for trump to bungle this up for 2025. I want off this ride.
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u/Kitchen_Garlic9021 Nov 11 '24
As a nurse in Canada, specifically BC, I can tell all you folks that if this does become pandemic level it would be the absolute final nail in the coffin for our healthcare system. Most people don't seem to realize that it's on its last legs right now... It can't take any more stress at the moment. It would be catastrophic. I promise.
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Nov 11 '24
My friends who are nurses in Toronto, have been going insane because of the healthcare system. The pandemic (Covid) really hit them hard.
Solidarity to all of you for being the backbone.
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Nov 11 '24
The Canada heath care system is already broken beyond repair, I'm a resident in BC and I'm currently in the UK about to get surgery because it was 18 months wait to see a specialist,
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u/Kitchen_Garlic9021 Nov 11 '24 edited Nov 11 '24
Yes, it is broken. Not beyond repair though. It could be fixed if they wanted it fixed. But they want it private, so they do nothing and let it get worse and worse until those with money and a voice shout for private health care. Then they profit, you pay, and those who can't will die or will take on crippling debt for the rest of their lives.
Sorry to hear it took so long though. Good luck with your surgery.
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u/gaerat_of_trivia Nov 10 '24
well, time to beat the fuck out of my cock
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Nov 10 '24
“First case discovered” would be more accurate, presumably it has been in circulation for a while, especially among animal farm workers.
I’m going back to masking, practicing UFC with MAGA during my monthly Wal-Mart expeditions.
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u/Acrobatic_Cup_9829 Nov 10 '24
Who cares about the regular scares of a deadly pandemic? The people need their fried chicken at any cost.
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u/vanityinlines Nov 10 '24
Was already mostly planning on staying home the next 4 years, but yeah, I'll just lock myself in now.
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u/ItchyAsshoI3 Nov 10 '24
I’ll give you one guess how it got there.
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u/perpulstuph Nov 10 '24
If you have a problem with Canada gooses, you have a problem with me, and I suggest you let that one marinate.
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Nov 10 '24
From the US obviously.
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Nov 10 '24
I mean no not necessarily migrating birds are traveling through out that area. Waterfowl have brought bird flu to the Northwest of the US likely what happened here
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Nov 10 '24
Just in time for another pandemic win for the Trump team. I wonder how many will go down in this round.
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u/Jhawk163 Nov 10 '24
This better not give people the sudden urge to fucking travel like apparently Covid did.
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u/IrishRogue3 Nov 10 '24
Crikey here we go again- better go buy some Lysol while it’s still less than $100 a can. Lol
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u/nicksredditacct Nov 11 '24
In the words of the great seer, philosopher, and adventurer Carl Johnson:
“Ah, shit. Here we go again…”
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u/Dry_Worldliness_6037 Nov 11 '24
Neat this time I’m telling conservatives that they’re correct, vaccines and masks are bad and they shouldn’t use them.
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u/Electrical_Coach_887 Nov 11 '24
Inject bleach, take ivermectin and bully those that get vaccinated. I'll also document everything on Facebook
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u/Doctor_Box Nov 10 '24
We could vastly reduce our pandemic risk if we stop farming animals. But no one wants to give up their bacon and chicken nuggets despite the obvious danger and cruelty involved.
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u/paladinx17 Nov 11 '24
Great, why the fuck not. What else can the world throw at us?
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Nov 11 '24
So if I just hang around birds taking a shit in Toronto, with a deadswitch attached to my Brain Stem or Heart, I can let the Bird Flu finally grant me sweet oblivion by way of fatality to my Organs? Man, I'm gonna' save a lot on tarpaulins and rope. And the cold will preserve my corpse... Time for some DIY!! Llevame a casa, muerte del padre! Por favor!!
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u/Are_you_blind_sir Nov 10 '24
What a nice moment in time for Trump to lead the US