Should we be worried about bird flu? The New Yorker.
Paul Goldfinger MD FACC
Recent developments indicate possibility of bird flu pandemic impacting humans is no longer remote
“The New York Times reports bird flu “has infected more than 900 herds and dozens of people, killing one, and the outbreak shows no signs of abating.” According to over a dozen experts, “a human pandemic is not inevitable, even now.” However, “a series of developments over the past few weeks indicates that the possibility is no longer remote.” Reinfections suggest that the virus “could circulate on farms indefinitely, finding opportunities to evolve into a more dangerous form – a ‘high-risk’ scenario, said Louise Moncla, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Pennsylvania.”
Medscape Medical News:
“Nearly half of a sample of primary care physicians (PCPs) in the United States were affiliated with hospitals in 2022, almost double the percentage just 13 years earlier in 2009, a new study of nearly 200,000 physicians found. Their negotiated prices for office visits are more than 10% higher than for independent physicians.”