Europe's disease watchdog just rolled out a pandemic playbook for health ministers across the EU. The focus? Bird flu prevention strategies—because researchers are warning we're literally one genetic shift away from a full-blown crisis.

The timing's interesting. Scientists aren't being subtle about the threat level here. That "one major mutation" line isn't fearmongering—it's pattern recognition from people who've tracked these viruses for decades.

Worth watching how this develops. Public health scares have a funny way of rippling through markets, especially when official bodies start circulating action plans.