Public health experts continue to warn about a highly contagious bird disease that is rapidly spreading around the world. The virus, known colloquially as H5N1 or colloquially as bird flu, has caused serious problems in the past year, causing “Panzutic, or there is a pandemic among animals. Evolving disasters are contributing to commercial egg shortages, killing large numbers of wild and factory-raised animals, as well as hundreds of humans.
Since 2003, 873 H5N1 cases have been reported, of which an estimated 53% have died.
Bird flu as the name suggests symptoms It resembles the flu and means high fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, diarrhea and pneumonia. Not only does the virus spread easily, it can also cause severe illness, with a much higher human mortality rate than his COVID-19.
Since 2003, there have been 873 human H5N1 cases, with an estimated 53 percent This is comparable to some Ebola outbreaks. COVID has estimates 1 percent Seasonal influenza has a fatality rate of 0.1-0.2%. These rates can vary depending on the situation, so they aren’t always a good indicator of risk, but they can tell you something about the severity of the disease.
As more countries report more cases, H5N1 is alarming public health experts.some have Asking governments to stockpile influenza vaccines All strains begin clinical trials testing new defenses against pathogens. Dr Sylvie Briand, Head of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention at the World Health Organization (WHO), described the situation as follows:anxietyOn February 24, an increase in infections, especially in mammals.
For example, in Peru, health authorities report: 585 sea lions dead middle of February. As of March 3, their numbers had reached about 3,500, or about 3.3% of the country’s total sea lion population, according to the report. BNO News63,000 bird deaths were also reported, including pelicans, boobies and guanas.
Neighboring countries are also affected, including Argentina, which detected its first case on an industrial farm on March 1. suspend immediately All poultry exports.
But other countries, from Spain to Chile to Estonia to Scotland, have all disclosed their own cases. 60 million birds euthanized to prevent further spread.
Pathogens are nothing new. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a report from northern Italy in 1878 stated that “chicken pestoIt was not until 1955 that the virus was officially confirmed to be an influenza A virus. Human outbreak in Hong Kong following year. 18 people were infected and 6 died. (The name H5N1 refers to a combination of two proteins called hemagglutinin and neuraminidase.)
A genetic analysis of an outbreak on a mink farm in Spain in October revealed that the virus detected at least one mutation that facilitates its spread from mammal to mammal.
Since then, public health experts have become acutely aware that H5N1 could pose a major problem if it spread widely. Despite a handful of cases over the decades, it hasn’t been. It states that it is several steps ahead of viral evolution to occur. Nevertheless, each infection is another opportunity for mutation that could turn the tide.
This is no mere guess. That’s what happened with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 is further mutating as it infects more and more people. Some of these mutations turned out to be beneficial, which made human infections more subtle. It’s even worse than the hundreds of thousands of birds that died in .
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H5N1 is a virus specifically evolved to attack birds, so it is still poor at infecting mammalian cells. But if there’s one thing viruses can do, it’s mutation. Also, some versions of H5N1 have acquired a genetic advantage, making them more adept at spreading among mammalian organisms.
For example, genetic analysis of an October outbreak on a mink farm in Spain revealed: Virus detected at least one mutation Facilitates mammal-to-mammal spread. About 52,000 mink at the facility have been euthanized. This is a reminder that mink farming is a very misguided practice.also in mink similar respiratory system Influenza virus that grows in mink likely to work well in humans that too.
“This is very worrying,” said Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London. chemistry January 2023. “This is a definite mechanism for starting the H5 pandemic.”
“As far as we know, the virus from the mink farm did not infect workers or spread from the farm, so we concluded that an outbreak on a particular farm was likely,” Peacock told the salon in an email. “The greater risk is probably mink farming as a practice during this H5N1 outbreak. The virus only needs to get lucky once, and mink farms allow the virus to spread efficiently from person to person.” I think it’s the ideal way to learn to do.”
Bird flu kills its human hosts too quickly to spread far.
and Recent blog On the Imperial College London website, Peacock questioned whether the H5N1 pandemic was “inevitable”, leaving many unresolved questions and experts voicing their opinion on whether it is impossible or inevitable. concluded that is divided.
That will depend on the level of human infection, which so far remains low, and whether the virus can mutate and facilitate widespread human-to-human transmission. The more it circulates in animals, the more contact it has with humans, opening the door to unfortunate zoonotic diseases,” Peacock writes.
Thankfully, so far, zoonotic transmission, or transmission of viruses from animals to humans, is rare. A few people get infected with her H5N1 each year, but cases tend to spike before they become major outbreaks, let alone pandemics. Part of the reason is that bird flu occurs frequently. kill a human host too quickly For it is so widespread, and so far, Human-to-human transmission is rare.
Meanwhile, cases of bird flu are making headlines. 11 year old girl Originally from Prey Veng province in southern Cambodia, he died on February 22. Her father was also infected, but had no symptoms, and another 11 of her who tested were negative for her H5N1.
However, genetic sequencing of the virus in these two cases revealed it to be an older strain of H5N1 called 2.3.2.1c. 2.3.4.4bTo most people this may seem like a random jumble of numbers and letters, but as we learned with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, even small mutations can make these pathogens can make a big difference in how they attack.
For Cambodia, it’s a bit of a relief that this strain is older than the strain that makes birds sick all over the world. need mutation Humans are easily infected.However, WHO report A handful of infections with the 2.3.4.4b strain: 1 in China, 2 in Spain, 1 in the UK, 1 in the US and 1 in Vietnam. All these cases have disappeared and human-to-human transmission remains rare.
“We have a pretty good understanding of the minimum required for these viruses to become pandemics. However, many human infections may be missed, especially those that are mild, asymptomatic, or from regions of the world where testing is not readily available. Co-infection between influenza viruses—has the ability to allow an avian influenza virus to pick up several of these mutations at once—and a human influenza virus.”
Peacock advised against touching or handling sick or dead birds, especially poultry, waterfowl and seabirds. He also told us to keep pets away from birds as cats and dogs are susceptible to bird flu. paralysis, tremors, etc.), report to your local health authority.
Many countries are now preparing influenza vaccines and antiviral drugs such as baloxavir and Tamiflu, which are believed to be effective against H5N1, despite the relatively low level of risk.America We are currently stockpiling vaccines to many influenza viruses, including H5N1.according to new york timesthe CDC is sending samples of influenza virus to pharmaceutical companies to help develop vaccines, while also investigating whether commercial test makers would be interested in developing H5N1 tests similar to those used to detect COVID. I’m here.
But pandemics don’t have to be extremely deadly to cause widespread destruction. Even a sharp increase in hospitalizations and sick workers could spread the turmoil.
“It’s a really dangerous time for birds,” said Andrew Pavia, director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division at the University of Utah. Scientific American“But as of today, the risk to humans remains very low. Our concern is what will happen as it becomes more prevalent.”
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