Mongolia has imposed a temporary restriction on imports of poultry products from China, due to an outbreak of H5N1 – better known as avian, or bird flu. The decision was made at a meeting of the National Emergency Commission of Mongolia on 5 February.

A highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N1, has caused an outbreak in China’s Hunan province, near ground zero of the deadly coronavirus. As the global coronavirus outbreak grows to infect over 20,000 with 427 fatalities, China finds itself in the cross hairs of a new, dangerous outbreak: bird flu, an infection that can kill poultry and humans alike. While H5N1, hasn’t infected any humans yet, it is a revealing a disturbing pattern with global implications.