The current spike in bird flu infections among animals, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, may make the virus more contagious in people. North and South America have also had significant outbreaks of avian flu since late 2021, which has caused Europe to endure its worst-ever pandemic.
Tens of millions of chickens have been killed as a result, many of which were infected with the H5N1 virus strain, which first appeared in 1996. However, there has been a concerning increase in mammalian infections lately.
The WHO said in a statement that while avian influenza viruses typically propagate among birds, the growing incidence of H5N1 avian influenza detections among mammals, which are physiologically closer to humans than birds, raises worry that the virus may evolve to more readily infect people.
Additionally, certain mammals may serve as mixing bowls for influenza viruses, which might result in the creation of novel viruses that are more dangerous to both people and animals.
26 species, including sealions in Chile and farmed mink in Spain, have recorded outbreaks. In Poland, cats have recently tested positive for H5N1.
‘PARADIGM CHANGE’
The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the WHO encouraged nations to cooperate in order to preserve animals and save humans.
According to WOAH research leader Gregorio Torres, “there is a recent paradigm shift in the ecology and epidemiology of avian influenza that has increased global concern as the disease spread to new geographical regions and caused unusual wild bird die-offs, as well as an alarming rise in mammalian cases.”
Human infections may result in serious illness with a high fatality rate. Most human instances of bird flu are caused by direct or indirect contact with infected living or dead poultry, contaminated settings, or both.
“The virus does not appear to be able to transmit from one person to another easily, but vigilance is needed to identify any evolution in the virus that can change that,” said Sylvie Briand, the WHO’s leader for pandemic preparedness.
She noted that experts were watching for developments that may make people more hazardous and asked nations to improve their monitoring capacities. “This is especially important as the virus is now affecting countries with limited prior experience in avian-flu surveillance,” said Briand.
– DEVASTATING BIRDSPREAD –
The WHO said that a variation has caused a “unprecedented” amount of wild bird and poultry mortality in numerous nations in Africa, Asia, and Europe since 2020. In 2021, the virus expanded to North America, and in 2022, it reached Central and South America.
Over 131 million domestic fowl died or were culled in impacted farms and towns as a result of highly virulent H5N1 bird flu outbreaks that were detected in 67 countries across five continents last year. As the illness continues to spread, outbreaks were recorded in 14 more countries in 2023, mostly in the Americas.
According to the WHO, these epidemics have damaged poultry and caused “devastation” to farmers’ livelihoods and the food industry. The UN health agency further said that “numerous mass death events have been reported in wild birds.”
These outbreaks “pose ongoing risks to humans even though they primarily affect animals,” it said. The epidemiology of H5N1 is still changing quickly, according to Keith Sumption, chief veterinary officer of the FAO.
He urged for rapid genetic sequence exchange so that changes could be watched for and improved risk assessment and illness management may ensue.
