Will bird flu spark a human pandemic? Scientists say the risk is rising Nature - H5N1 is adapting to new mammalian hosts, raising the possibility of the virus spreading between humans. Kozlov, Max nature

Although many of the infections have been mild, emerging data indicate that variants of the avian influenza virus H5N1 that are spreading in North America can cause severe disease and death, especially when passed directly to humans from birds. The virus is also adapting to new hosts — cows and other mammals — raising the risk that it could spark a human pandemic.

Analysis shows significant financial burden of long COVID in US Approximately 93% to 95% of these costs come from productivity losses. CIDRAP

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Using current estimates of US long-COVID burden (assuming the probability of long COVID is 6% and symptoms last 1 year), cases cost an average of $2.01 billion annually. The economic burden of long COVID already surpasses that of carpal tunnel, Lyme disease, and psoriasis, the authors said, and is likely to continue to grow.

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