The H5N1 avian influenza situation in the United States appears to be more difficult than ever this week, as the virus continues to spread rapidly among dairy cows and birds, while sporadically jumping to humans. .
Officials in Louisiana announced Monday that the first person in the country to develop severe H5N1 infection has died from the infection, making it the country’s first H5N1 death. On the other hand, there are no signs of the H5N1 infection slowing down. Seasonal influenza is rapidly increasingraising fears that different influenza viruses could mix, exchange genetic elements and create even more dangerous strains of the virus.
However, despite the seemingly frenzied virus activity and fears, representatives of the World Health Organization today pointed out that the risk to the general population remains low unless a significant factor of human-to-human transmission exists.
“Of course we are concerned, but we are looking at the risks to the general population and, as I said, the risks remain low,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters. Ta. Geneva press conference on Tuesday Answered questions about deaths in the United States. In terms of updating the risk assessment, we need to look at how the virus behaved in that patient and whether it was passed from person to person, which was not the case, Harris explained. . “At this time, we have not seen any actions that would change the risk assessment,” she added.
In a statement about the death late Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stressed that there is no confirmed human-to-human transmission in the United States. To date, 66 cases of H5N1 infection in humans have been recorded since the beginning of 2024. Of these, 40 were associated with exposure to infected dairy cows, 23 were associated with infected poultry, two had no clear source of infection, and one had an unknown source. Deaths in Louisiana were linked to exposure to infected backyard and wild birds.
