April 29th 2024.
New Delhi: Health experts have recently shared their concerns about the bird flu virus, stating that while there has been no confirmed case of human-to-human transmission, the virus is showing signs of mutating and potentially becoming a threat to humans.
The bird flu, also known as avian influenza A virus, has been a recurring issue in poultry farms around the world, including in various parts of India. This virus is often brought to poultry farms by migrating wild birds. However, in recent years, it has been observed that the virus has also started to affect mammals.
In 2023, the H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus caused a record number of deaths in birds and also spread to various mammals such as otters, sea lions, foxes, dolphins, and seals. More recently, it has also been reported in cattle farms across the US. In fact, health officials in the US found fragments of the virus in pasteurized milk sold in stores, indicating that the virus has now adapted to spread among mammals.
Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the Indian Medical Association's National Covid-19 Task Force, explained, "This shows that the H5N1 bird flu virus has now adapted to easily spread among mammals, rather than having to jump from bird to mammal each time. This is a clear indication that the virus has made suitable adaptations and is inching closer to humans."
He further added, "While there is currently no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, the concern is that the virus has now found a new host in cattle, which are in constant contact with humans. This increases the risk of the virus potentially mutating further and becoming a major health threat."
The question on everyone's mind is, can bird flu infect humans? Last week, in Jharkhand's Ranchi, two doctors and six staff members of a Regional Poultry Farm were quarantined for two days after showing symptoms of the virus. However, their test results came back negative for the virus.
According to data from the World Health Organization, there have been a total of 873 human cases of infection with influenza A and 458 deaths reported globally from 21 countries between 2003 and 2023. However, there has been no sustained human-to-human transmission detected so far.
Biologist Vinod Scaria said, "Human infection from avian influenza only occurs with close contact with infected animals. While the risk is low, these cases have a high mortality rate due to humans having no prior immunity to this particular type of influenza virus."
The WHO has stated that there is currently no evidence to suggest that the bird flu virus has the ability to spread sustainably among humans. However, the recent incident of the virus infecting cattle, where it also affected one human, has raised concerns.
Genomic analysis has revealed that the virus has been silently spreading among cattle for several months now, since late last year or early this year. Dr. Jayadevan expressed his concerns, saying, "Scientists are worried that the virus might continue to mutate and develop the ability to infect humans easily and even spread from one human to another, which could result in a catastrophic event. We can only hope that this does not happen."
To reduce the risk of the H5N1 virus potentially recombining with a human avian virus, the WHO recommends that people in close contact with cattle and poultry practice good hygiene, regularly wash their hands, pasteurize milk, and get vaccinated against seasonal human flu.
Dr. Scaria emphasized the importance of personal protection when handling infected birds, dead birds, or their excreta. He also stressed the need for public awareness about these safety measures.
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