Rising Concerns Over Bird Flu Outbreak

The ongoing H5N1 bird flu outbreak is becoming increasingly concerning, with the number of reported human cases rising to 59 across several states. While most of these cases have not been severe, there remains uncertainty about how infections are occurring, particularly highlighted by a teenager in Canada who has been hospitalized in serious condition after catching a variant of the virus. Scientists are puzzled by the relatively lower mortality rate in humans compared to the virus's high lethality in other mammals. This situation raises alarms among infectious disease experts who fear the virus could mutate to enable easier transmission between humans, particularly due to the involvement of pigs as potential mixing vessels for different virus strains.