There Is A Huge Risk Of Bird Flu Spreading To Humans: WHO

Concerns over the transmission of H5N1 bird flu to humans, who have a “extraordinarily high” fatality rate, have been brought up by the World Health Organization.

Chief scientist Jeremy Farrar of the UN health agency told reporters in Geneva, “This remains, I think, an enormous concern.”

Many millions of chickens have been killed or are in danger of dying as a result of an epidemic that started in 2020. The WHO said that the likelihood of the virus spreading to people has risen lately due to its proliferation across various animal species, including domestic cattle in the US.

Although prior research suggested that goats and cows were immune to this particular strain of influenza, cattle are now considered probable hosts of the illness. Additionally, earlier this month in the US, a guy from Texas was recuperating from bird flu after coming into contact with dairy cattle; sixteen herds in six states were reportedly affected after coming into contact with wild birds.

What are the opinions of scientists?
As per the scientists’ findings, the A (H5N1) strain has turned into a “global zoonotic animal pandemic, which is infecting ducks and chickens and then increasingly mammals, that virus now evolves and develops the ability to infect humans and then critically the ability to go from human to human,” added Farrar.

Nevertheless, there is currently no proof that the influenza A(H5N1) virus is spreading among people. However, “the mortality rate is extraordinarily high” in the hundreds of instances over the previous 20 years when people have contracted the disease via interaction with animals.

Humans are not naturally immune to the virus, according to Farrar.
According to the WHO, there have been 889 cases and 463 fatalities from H5N1 in 23 countries between 2003 and 2024, making the case fatality rate 52%.

Bird flu: what is it?
Bird flu, sometimes called avian influenza, is a viral virus that may infect people, other animals, and birds. The virus only affects birds in its majority of forms.

The most prevalent kind of bird flu, H5N1, is readily transmissible to humans and other animals that come into contact with a carrier. It is fatal to birds. According to the WHO, H5N1 was first identified in humans in 1997 and has killed around 60% of individuals who have contracted it.

Symptoms and indicators
The following are a few H5N1 infection symptoms and indicators, which are usually flu-like:
Cough
The diarrhea
breathing problems
High temperature
Headache
Aches in the muscles
Sickness
runny nose
a sore throat
Factors that increase the risk of avian flu
Experts state that H5N1 may persist for long periods of time. H5N1-infected birds may expel the virus for up to 10–15 days via their saliva and feces.

The illness may spread via contact with infected surfaces. The following factors may increase your chance of catching H5N1:
A farmer of chickens
A tourist in the impacted regions
exposed to avian infections
A person who consumes undercooked eggs or poultry
A medical professional tending to individuals with infection
a member of the afflicted person’s household