Don't Ditch The Masks Just Yet

If you are anything like me, you have a drawer full of old hand sanitiser and face masks left over from the Coronavirus pandemic but i wouldn't be too quick to throw them out because just as we get over one virus jumping from the wildlife to humans, we could be at the start of another one with scientists warning that
Bird flu has jumped to us mammals.
Bird flu has been found in foxes and otters in the UK and around the globe it's cropped up in dolphins, bears, minks, domestic and wild cats and although the scientists are not sounding any alarm bells for us humans yet, they say they are keeping a watchful eye on it although they believe that the mammals probably ate infected dead wild birds or their droppings.
It was the cases of the mink's which caused a few scientists pens in shirt pockets to be jangled nervously though as the H5N1 virus appeared to spread between the animals, from pen to pen and under the microscope they noticed that the virus underwent a genetic change that meant it was better able to reproduce in mammals which the Animal and Plant Health Agency called 'of significant concern' although they did go on to say that it doesn't mean humans are next in line.
'Potentially infectious contact is likely to be rare' said one scientist on the reassuringly on the BBC today before adding 'right now' as Avian Flu is forever changing and 'there is a constant risk that one of the new strains may spread easily among humans'.
The APHA is now boosting its surveillance program to make sure it tracks any instances of the virus passing from mammal to mammal and would make make the public health departments aware so they can make clear and rapid assessments which should make us breathe a little easier, especially if you turned
the radio off before he went on to say that the viruses responsible for all four of the worldwide human influenza pandemics seen in the last 100 years have originated from birds.