H5N1 Bird Flu Strain Reported to be Another “Gain-of-Function” Virus

This strain may have emerged from gain-of-function research conducted at two specific facilities: the USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) in Athens, Georgia, and the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Back in 2022, during the early days of the “bird flu” pandemic, I wondered if the H5N1 strain of bird flu was a gain-of-function creation. The reason for it was two-fold. One was the high kill ratio. While a new virus might have a high infection fatality rate, 100% fatality would only likely be achieved if the virus genetics were rearranged to target a host species. The second...