Ex-CDC Chief Warns of High-Mortality Bird Flu Pandemic Caused by Gain of Function Research | 17 June 2024 | Former U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield has expressed concerns over a potential avian influenza pandemic caused by reckless gain-of-function research. Redfield stressed he is "less concerned" by the possibility of bird flu jumping between species than he is by an out-of-control manmade virus. "I'm much more concerned that this will happen in the laboratory, through gain of function research. I can create this virus literally in weeks to months by using gain of function research," Redfield warned. "I know exactly what amino acids I have to change, because in 2012, against my recommendation, the scientists that did these experiments actually published them. So the recipe for how to make bird flu highly infectious for humans is already out there. All you have to do is look at it." Dr. Redfield highlighted the high mortality associated with bird flu when it infects humans, estimating a fatality rate between 25 percent and 50 percent.