VRx

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insights.vrx.palo-alto.ca.us

timeline 1981 - present Progression of viral outbreaks affecting penguin colonies in the South Pole. Two factors are at play, first Newcastle disease a domestic poultry pathogen affecting mostly chickens, and second: avian flu, spread worldwide by ducks, who are largely immune, but speed it to watersheds globally; shore birds do the rest transporting it to the Antarctic. Each year viral penetration into the colonies becomes more widespread. Inevitably they will be hit by a strain that could cause great losses.

bird flu Avian Flu There are many avian flu strains/types, h1, h5, h7 and so on and many subtypes: H5N1, H5N5 and so on. Birds are different than us and do not get the respiratory symptoms we do they mostly get it in the alimentary canal and are not as badly affected as humans. This virus doesn't naturally infect humans, in who it does affect respiratory systems, not the gut; The avian flus burn through asco9rbnate in mammals which is not usually a problem as they make their own, btu the precipitous drop in ascorbate in mammals that do not make their own ascorbate no doubt accounts for the rather hi fatality rate with Avian flu: 50% mortality. For reference, common season flu is 0.2% and covid-19 was 2%.