Will Stone

Hey there. Yeah, unfortunately, it's looking like it.

Definitely. So, you know, the basics are that a bird flu infection starts when the protein on the virus binds to a receptor on the cell it wants to take over. This is the HA protein on the virus. Now, luckily, the version of H5N1 spreading in cattle has not evolved to target the receptors that dominate the upper airways in humans.

Definitely. So, you know, the basics are that a bird flu infection starts when the protein on the virus binds to a receptor on the cell it wants to take over. This is the HA protein on the virus. Now, luckily, the version of H5N1 spreading in cattle has not evolved to target the receptors that dominate the upper airways in humans.

Definitely. So, you know, the basics are that a bird flu infection starts when the protein on the virus binds to a receptor on the cell it wants to take over. This is the HA protein on the virus. Now, luckily, the version of H5N1 spreading in cattle has not evolved to target the receptors that dominate the upper airways in humans.

Yeah, that's a good thing because that's a key step in the path to becoming a pandemic virus. There have been dozens of known human infections so far, and there's some reason to believe that's probably an undercount. Luckily, most of the cases have been mild and many are just presenting as, you know, conjunctivitis, an eye infection or sometimes a mild cold.

Yeah, that's a good thing because that's a key step in the path to becoming a pandemic virus. There have been dozens of known human infections so far, and there's some reason to believe that's probably an undercount. Luckily, most of the cases have been mild and many are just presenting as, you know, conjunctivitis, an eye infection or sometimes a mild cold.

Yeah, that's a good thing because that's a key step in the path to becoming a pandemic virus. There have been dozens of known human infections so far, and there's some reason to believe that's probably an undercount. Luckily, most of the cases have been mild and many are just presenting as, you know, conjunctivitis, an eye infection or sometimes a mild cold.

That's right. Mostly agriculture workers, though there have been several cases in North America without a known source of infection. One of those was in Missouri earlier this year. There was another in California. And then most concerning was a case in Canada. This was a teenager who became severely ill. They were hospitalized in critical condition.

That's right. Mostly agriculture workers, though there have been several cases in North America without a known source of infection. One of those was in Missouri earlier this year. There was another in California. And then most concerning was a case in Canada. This was a teenager who became severely ill. They were hospitalized in critical condition.

That's right. Mostly agriculture workers, though there have been several cases in North America without a known source of infection. One of those was in Missouri earlier this year. There was another in California. And then most concerning was a case in Canada. This was a teenager who became severely ill. They were hospitalized in critical condition.

They could not tell how this person was infected. There was genetic sequencing showing that it probably Wasn't spread by cattle. It did not look like the version that's in the dairy cattle. It was pretty similar to what had been spreading in wild birds in British Columbia where this teenager was infected.

They could not tell how this person was infected. There was genetic sequencing showing that it probably Wasn't spread by cattle. It did not look like the version that's in the dairy cattle. It was pretty similar to what had been spreading in wild birds in British Columbia where this teenager was infected.

They could not tell how this person was infected. There was genetic sequencing showing that it probably Wasn't spread by cattle. It did not look like the version that's in the dairy cattle. It was pretty similar to what had been spreading in wild birds in British Columbia where this teenager was infected.

So all of this adds to a general sense of anxiety about, you know, where this outbreak could go.

So all of this adds to a general sense of anxiety about, you know, where this outbreak could go.

So all of this adds to a general sense of anxiety about, you know, where this outbreak could go.

Yeah, so the big fear is obviously this virus evolves and gets much better at infecting humans. And the more chances it has to spill over into a person, the more chances it has to mutate. And scientists think, you know, that might have happened actually in this teenager in Canada who seems to have caught it maybe from a bird, that the virus actually evolved while inside of them.

Yeah, so the big fear is obviously this virus evolves and gets much better at infecting humans. And the more chances it has to spill over into a person, the more chances it has to mutate. And scientists think, you know, that might have happened actually in this teenager in Canada who seems to have caught it maybe from a bird, that the virus actually evolved while inside of them.

Yeah, so the big fear is obviously this virus evolves and gets much better at infecting humans. And the more chances it has to spill over into a person, the more chances it has to mutate. And scientists think, you know, that might have happened actually in this teenager in Canada who seems to have caught it maybe from a bird, that the virus actually evolved while inside of them.

And then that's what ended up leading to such a serious illness. Thankfully, there is no evidence this person spread it to anyone else. And we did get a reminder of how things could go south here. There was a recent study from Scripps Research Institute, and it looked at the protein on the virus that I had mentioned before to see how it would need to change to better infect humans.