| ■ European Union Not Ready for Flu Pandemic: Report | 07.02.26 |
| The European Union is ill-prepared for the long-feared human flu pandemic that could arise from the current outbreak of H5N1 bird flu, the European Center for Disease Control said in a report released Thursday. The EU is at least two years away from being able to respond effectively to a massive human flu outbreak, according to a Bloomberg news service report of the agency's findings. The current strain of H5N1 emerged in Asia in 2003. World health officials fear the deadly virus, which has led to the deaths and slaughter of millions of birds and has killed at least 167 people, could mutate into a pandemic form that's easily passed between humans. "It's a question of 'when', not 'if" a [human] pandemic will occur," ECDC Director Zsuzsanna Jakab said in the report. The analysis urged governments to be better prepared in non-health related sectors such as electric utilities, which must devise plans to deal with significant staff absenteeism, Bloomberg reported |