Todos Medical Ltd. announced that its CLIA/CAP-certified laboratory Provista Diagnostics has initiated a validation plan for PCR-based Avian Influenza A (H5N1, bird flu) human testing. Under the plan, the Company will validate commercial and internally developed H5N1 PCR reagents and launch the most sensitive test. The H5N1 PCR test is being developed as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT).

The currently circulating strain of H5N1, which has been the most transmissible and most deadly to date, has successfully crossed over from birds to mammals, with various land and sea animals, including skunks, foxes, raccoons, bears, minks, mountain lions, sea lions, seals and dolphins having confirmed H5N1 infection at death. Over 58 million poultry birds have been affected, and cases in birds have been reported in every state in the US. There is concern among leading scientists that the current strain of H5N1 could mutate to become more transmissible towards humans.

Ecuador reported the first human case of H5N1 for 2023 in a 9-year old girl in January. When H5N1 does infect humans, historical data gathered shows it has a 56% mortality rate.