Institut Pasteur Warns That Bird Flu Could Cause a Pandemic Worse Than COVID

Institut Pasteur warns that even if the risk of human transmission is now low, mutant bird flu could cause a pandemic worse than COVID.

A pandemic more severe than COVID-19 might be triggered if the bird flu virus, which is spreading quickly among wild birds, poultry, and numerous animal species, mutates to spread effectively between people, France’s Institut Pasteur has warned.

According to Marie-Anne Rameix-Welti, medical head of the Respiratory Infections Center at the Institut Pasteur, although human infections are still uncommon, the highly virulent avian influenza strain that is spreading worldwide offers a serious potential threat.

She told Reuters in Paris, “We are afraid that the virus will adapt to mammals, especially humans, and become capable of human-to-human transmission, which would be a pandemic virus.”

Already, hundreds of millions of birds have been culled globally due to bird flu, upsetting food supply systems and increasing costs. Global health officials are becoming concerned about cases in mammals, including dairy cows, foxes, and seals.

Rameix-Welti pointed out that, like the initial lack of immunity shown with COVID-19, humans do not have antibodies against the H5 strains currently infecting animals. Unlike COVID-19, which disproportionately impacted susceptible populations, she continued, flu viruses can kill healthy people, including children.

She stated, “A bird flu pandemic would probably be quite severe, possibly even more severe than the pandemic we experienced.”

Infections in humans have so far largely been caused by intimate contact with infected animals, although the United States recently reported the first-ever human case of H5N5, which involved a patient who had preexisting medical issues and died.

According to the World Health Organization, there were about 1,000 bird flu outbreaks that killed 48% of people between 2003 and 2025, mostly in Egypt, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

The likelihood of a human pandemic caused by bird flu is still minimal, according to international health experts, despite the warnings.

The head of science at the World Organization for Animal Health, Gregorio Torres, emphasized that people shouldn’t freak out.

It is possible that a pandemic may break out. However, the likelihood is still quite low,” he stated. “You can enjoy your life, eat chicken and eggs, and stroll through the forest with joy.”

According to Rameix-Welti, the globe is in a better situation now than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. She emphasized that there are currently viable flu vaccine options that can be produced rapidly if necessary.

“In addition, we have supplies of particular antivirals that should work against this avian influenza virus,” she continued.