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There Will (Probably) Be an H5N1 Pandemic in 2025. Be Ready.
This is probably the last thing any of us wanted to hear, but we may well be staring in the face of another pandemic, and one that would likely have a higher mortality rate than COVID.
H5N1 (also known as bird flu) has in the past had up to a 50% mortality rate. It has spread widely not just among wild birds and poultry, but among many different species of mammals. From the CDC:
HPAI A(H5N1) virus infection has been reported in wild mammals such as foxes, bears, seals, and sea lions, and in domesticated animals, including pets such as cats and dogs, farmed mink and foxes, and livestock such as goats and dairy cows. In the United States, HPAI A(H5N1) virus detections in mammals have been reported in more than 20 states including detections in dairy cattle herds in 15 states as of November 2024.
There have been reports of bird flu infecting domestic and wild cats as well. In fact, just yesterday (Dec. 27th), 20 out of 37 big cats (lions, tigers, etc.) were killed in a bird flu outbreak at a wildlife sanctuary in Shelton, a town in western Washington state not far from where I sit typing this.
There have been several human cases of H5N1 infections, but only one in America has been declared serious as of this writing. The problem is that it had mutated. That’s bad news.
