May 27, 2024
Complacency risk as pandemic looms
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Public health expert Michael Baker says New Zealand is becoming complacent not just of Covid but other looming pandemics.
New Zealand is experiencing its highest peak in Covid-19 cases since December 2022, with the Health Ministry reporting 6146 new cases last week and 19 deaths.
The United States Centre for Disease Control says H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and US dairy cows with two cases of H5 in US dairy workers.
In Australia a child returning from overseas tested positive for the H5N1 strain last week.
Professor Baker says it could be reaching a critical phase..
“So all of those burdens are really quite a worry in terms of wildlife, agriculture, food supply. And of course it’s getting closer to spreading in humans. It’s still got a few steps they would have to take and it might never take those steps, but it is concerning,” he says.
Michael Baker says people need to stay current with their Covid boosters and New Zealand needs to update its national pandemic plan.