A dangerous mutation…the bird flu virus is causing terror in America

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that a genetic analysis indicated that the bird influenza virus mutated inside a patient from Louisiana, who was infected with the first serious case of the disease in the country.
Scientists believe that the variants may allow the virus to better bind to receptors in the upper airways in humans, something they say is concerning but not alarming.
Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Minnesota, likened this binding interaction to a lock and key.

Bird flu outbreak

Osterholm explained that to enter a cell, the virus needs a key that opens the lock, and this discovery means that the virus may change to have a key that may succeed in opening the lock.
“Is this an indication that we may be closer to seeing a virus that is easily transmitted between humans,” he said. “No, at the moment, this is a key that is in the lock, but it does not open the door.”
The virus caused various diseases, most of them mild, in people in the United States, and almost all of those infected worked on dairy or poultry farms.

Severe respiratory symptoms

The patient in Louisiana was transferred to the hospital in critical condition, as he was suffering from severe respiratory symptoms due to bird flu after coming into contact with sick and dead birds.
Officials said earlier this month that the person, who was not identified, was over 65 years old and had health problems.