The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the alarm about the spread of the bird flu pathogen H5N1 to more and more species. So far there have been hundreds of cases of people becoming infected with the virus – and the death rate is ‘extremely high’.
The fact that H5N1 no longer only affects birds warrants “huge concern,” WHO chief scientist Jeremy Farrar said in Geneva on Thursday. The virus has developed into a global ‘animal pandemic’. This spread increases the risk that people will also become infected and that the pathogen will ultimately be transmitted by humans.
The current outbreak of bird flu started in 2020 and has already resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of poultry animals. The virus also affects wild birds and has now also been found in mammals on land and in the sea. Last month, to the surprise of experts, cows and goats were added to the list of affected species.
There is currently no evidence that H5N1 is spreading among humans. According to the WHO, there were at least several hundred cases of humans being infected by infected animals. In these cases, the death rate is “extremely high”, WHO expert Farrar warned.
Mortality rate of 52 percent
From 2003 to April 1, 2024, WHO recorded a total of 889 human infections in 23 countries, of which 463 were fatal. That corresponds to a mortality rate of 52 percent.
The news that a person in the American state of Texas was infected with bird flu from dairy cattle also caused concern this month. Earlier, cattle herds in Texas, Kansas and other US states were apparently infected with H5N1 from wild birds. According to the WHO, the Texas case is apparently the first time a human has been infected with H5N1 in a mammal.
H5N1 is looking for “new, new hosts”
If a virus can also affect mammals, it would “come closer to humans,” Farrar emphasizes. H5N1 is looking for “new, new hosts”. Farrar called for closer monitoring of the infection process. It is important to know how many people have already been infected, “because that is where the adaptation (of the virus) will take place.”
The WHO expert warned that national and regional health authorities must have the capacity to detect the virus. This should allow humanity to “respond immediately” if H5N1 is transmitted from person to person. Everyone must also have access to vaccines and medicines against the bird flu virus, the development of which has already started.
Source: Krone
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