This cartoon was drawn in response to recent reports about the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu that has devastated wildlife populations worldwide and has been detected in native Australian seabirds. The impact on bird populations has been catastrophic but if you think that this only threatens birds then think again. It has crossed to other animals including humans, though to date this is fairly rare. But avian flu has the potential to mutate so that it can be transmitted from human to human, if this occurs humankind could face a pandemic similar to the COVID pandemic of 2020, or even worse.
CARTOON REFERENCE NUMBER: 2026-27