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The following statement regarding Mexico’s first confirmed human case of H5N1 may be attributed to Walter Sánchez-Suárez, animal behavior and welfare scientist at Mercy For Animals:
This tragic case should remind us of the gravity of the situation we face, where industrial animal agriculture plays a central role in contributing to the spread of avian influenza and facilitating cross-species transmission. Evidence suggests that this virus is already becoming endemic in North America, and the risk of a potential human epidemic that experts have warned about is certainly growing.
Governments and corporations must support a rapid shift toward alternative food systems to animal production, which are not only safer for public health but more efficient and humane and thus capable of contributing to both social and environmental well-being.
Statement in response to Mexico confirming the country’s first human case of bird flu in a 3-year-old girl