A lab technician demonstrates how eggs are examined for suitability before injecting them with samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus at the UK’s Pirbright Institute research center.
Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
Bird Flu's Surge Has Scientists Seeking Clues to Prevent the Next Pandemic
Scientists are using the lessons learned from Covid to track new mutations of a virus that experts say is even more dangerous
If you want to know how the world is preparing for the next global pandemic look at Rolaing, a Cambodian village located on a tributary of the Mekong River. For a few days in February this isolated spot became a hive of public health activity after an 11-year-old girl died of H5N1, the most virulent strain of bird flu — the country’s first fatality from the disease since 2014.
A rapid response team of local health workers was dispatched within hours to the village, a two hour drive from the capital Phnom Penh. They found a community of almost 2,000 people living in brightly colored wooden and sheet metal homes, close to their livestock and chickens.