The World Health Organization expressed deep concern on Thursday at the increasing spread of H5N1 bird flu to new species, including humans, who are facing an “extraordinarily high” mortality rate.
“This is still a huge concern,” stated Jeremy Farrar, the chief scientist of the UN health agency, during a press briefing in Geneva.
The current outbreak of bird flu, which began in 2020, has resulted in the deaths of millions of poultry and has also impacted wild birds, as well as land and marine mammals.
In a surprising turn of events, cows and goats were added to the list of affected species last month, a development that experts did not anticipate due to their perceived immunity to this strain of influenza. Farrar described the A(H5N1) strain as now being “a global zoonotic animal pandemic.”
“The major worry is that as the virus continues to infect ducks, chickens, and now mammals, it may evolve the ability to infect humans and crucially, spread from human to human,” Farrar explained.
While there is no evidence yet of human-to-human transmission of the influenza A(H5N1) virus, the mortality rate among infected individuals is notably high when contracted through contact with animals.
To date, the WHO has documented 463 deaths out of 889 human cases in 23 countries, yielding a case fatality rate of 52 percent since 2003.
In a troubling development, US authorities revealed earlier this month that a person in Texas was recovering from bird flu after exposure to dairy cattle, raising further concerns.
Farrar emphasized the importance of enhancing monitoring efforts, stressing the necessity of comprehending the extent of human infections to prevent the virus from adapting.
“While tragic, if I were to get infected with H5N1 and succumb to it, that might be the end of it. But if it spreads to others in the community, the cycle begins,” Farrar cautioned.
Efforts are underway to develop vaccines and therapeutics for H5N1, with an urgency to ensure that global health authorities have the capabilities to diagnose the virus promptly.
Farrar underscored the need for equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, emphasizing the global necessity to combat potential human transmission of H5N1 and enabling a swift response if such a scenario arises.
