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WE must act now to stop a bird flu pandemic and “save lives,” experts warn.
The H5N1 strain has already spread from birds to mammals, like cows – a pathway which led it to jump to farm workers.
We need to prepare for bird flu now to prevent unnecessary deaths[/caption]
Scientists are concerned it could mutate further so that it can spread among humans, which it currently can’t do.
While most human cases have been mild – only suffering from conjunctivitis, tiredness, and a sore throat – the virus could cause severe illness if it continues to evolve.
Just last month, the US reported its first human death from H5N1 this year, a Louisiana man in his mid-60s.
Genetic analysis at the time suggested the virus had evolved inside the man, potentially making it more severe.
In a letter published in Science, US experts are calling for immediate action to prevent an outbreak from taking place.
“H5N1’s potential to spread [means] urgent action is needed to address pandemic preparedness gaps,” lead author Dr Jesse Goodman, from Georgetown University Medical Center, wrote.
“Enhancing readiness now can save lives and reduce societal and economic disruption if H5N1 or another outbreak becomes
a pandemic,” he added.
It comes amid growing concerns among Czech scientists that the already highly pathogenic virus could be spreading in the wind.
Until now, it was believed that close, prolonged contact with an infected bird or their droppings was the only way to contract the virus.
Vaccine development for H5N1 has been slow, relying mostly on protein-based jabs that take months to produce.
The authors suggested an mRNA vaccine, like those used for Covid-19, could speed up the process – but only if governments and regulators work faster.
They also stress that global cooperation is crucial to ensure vaccines and treatments reach everyone, not just wealthy nations.
“To ensure equitable access, a global access framework should be established, including an entity that can provide financing and advanced vaccine purchases for low- and middle-income countries,” they wrote.
It also calls for pandemic response plans to undergo “transparent in-depth testing”.
This is so countries can “share plans and playbooks and form global collaborations that incorporate different disease scenarios and immunisation strategies,” they said.
Last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) added bird flu to its list of ’37 priority pathogens’ that have pandemic potential.
The British government recently announced that it had procured five million doses of an H5 protein-based vaccine, in case the virus starts to spread between humans, something that could trigger a pandemic.
FUELD BY WIND?
Meanwhile, a new, non-peer-reviewed study published in bioRxiv by experts from the State Veterinary Institute in Prague suggested the avian flu virus in poultry droppings could be spread by the wind.
The study examines a February 2024 H5N1 outbreak at poultry farms located eight km (five miles) apart in the Czech Republic.
Testing revealed striking similarities between the virus strains found at the two farms, with some samples from the duck farm being 100 per cent identical to those at the chicken farm.
There were no direct links between the farms, no contaminated food or water sources, and no large bodies of water nearby that could have spread the virus through wild birds.
Given these factors, scientists said wind appeared to be the most likely way the virus travelled between the farms.
Bird flu: Could it be the next human pandemic?
By Isabel Shaw, Health Reporter
The H5N1 bird flu is running rampant in wildlife around the world and is now spreading in cows.
In recent months, it infected people in Canada and the US leaving several severely unwell and one dead.
This increase in transmission has given the virus lots of opportunities to mutate – a process where a pathogen changes and can become more dangerous.
Scientists fear it’s only a matter of time before one of these mutations makes it better at spreading among mammals – and potentially humans.
Experts recently discovered H5N1 is already just one mutation away from developing the ability to transmit person-person.
Some experts believe the virus could already be spreading among some animal species.
So far, there is no evidence that H5N1 can spread between humans.
But in the hundreds of cases where humans have been infected through contact with animals over the past 20 years, the mortality rate is high.
From 2003 to 2024, 950 cases and over 400 deaths caused by H5N1 have been reported worldwide from 23 countries, according to the World Health Organisation.
Post-mortems found victims suffered from multiple organ failure, bleeding in the lungs, brain swelling, and sepsis.
This puts the case fatality rate at 52 per cent.
Leading scientists have already warned an influenza is the pathogen most likely to trigger a new pandemic in the near future.
The prospect of a flu pandemic is alarming.
However scientists have pointed out that vaccines against many strains, including H5N1, have already been developed, others are still in the pipeline.
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