Covid-19 is now considered gone, but the fast spread of the bird flu raises concerns in health experts

Experts are worried about how far the bird flu is spreading around the world. They say that its spread should be closely watched.

Bird flu has been found as far away as South America. It has also killed sea lions, minks, foxes, and otters, among other mammals.

It is spreading to wild bird populations all over the world, and it could spread to some species, maybe even endangered ones, that have never had the flu before. This makes it hard to predict how they will react to the virus.

Professor Ian Brown, who is the head of virology at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), told a virtual Science Media Centre press briefing, “I think it is really quite worrying that the virus has already reached so far down into South America.

“And we have to think about the fact that there are risks to the biodiversity of Antarctica.”

Professor Martin Beer, who is in charge of the Institute of Diagnostic Virology at Germany’s Friedrich Loeffler Institute, said, “The thing that worries me the most right now is that it’s spreading to places where this kind of virus has never been.

“And we’re talking about a whole continent full of different kinds of birds that have never been exposed to this kind of virus.”

The virus has been found in both North and South America. So far, it hasn’t spread to Africa or Australia.

Prof. Brown said that it is important to keep a close eye on how bird flu spreads and how the virus changes, and to learn from the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also asked, “Do we have good systems that are set up around the world to quickly track and watch these worrying events?

“If, God forbid, this virus ever spread to people, we need to have done that basic work in the animal and bird sector.

“So this is about how the world responds and works together to make sure we can find this virus quickly and figure out what it is doing.

“My main worry is whether or not we have that global structure… “Did we learn everything from Covid?”