Learning from a crisis
Bird flu is sweeping through the Dutch animal kingdom. Thousands of birds have already died, and the virus regularly jumps to mammals. According to virologist Marion Koopmans, it is possible that the virus can also make people sick, and the Netherlands is not well prepared for such a new pandemic.
We need to be better prepared for new pandemics, says virologist Marion Koopmans. “We have had the pandemic, we have had an outbreak of mpox since then. Today we also heard about an infection of sheep by a certain type of mosquito. We have an example of swine flu. These are not things to panic about, but still examples of the changed situation from several decades ago. We are simply dealing with more infections”.