WHO raises avian flu concerns over spread to mammals
Avian flu has been described as a “a global zoonotic animal pandemic” by a WHO scientist.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has spoken of its concerns about the spread of the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, after livestock and a farm worker in the USA recently tested positive.
In March, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirmed a case in a goat kid that lived on a farm where an outbreak had been detected in poultry. Since then, the disease has been confirmed in cattle herds across eight states, including Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico.
Federal and state agencies have increased testing for the virus, as well as viral genome sequencing, to monitor the situation.
Although avian influenza has previously been confirmed in mammals such as dogs, cats, and skunks since it reached the USA in 2022, this is the first time there have been widespread cases involving ruminants.
Health officials have also reported that a dairy worker in Texas is recovering after testing positive for avian influenza after exposure to infected dairy cattle. The individual reported eye redness as their only symptom. They were treated with an antiviral drug for influenza and told to isolate.
It is the second time a person in the USA has been diagnosed with avian influenza, following a case in Colorado in 2022.
Although there is no evidence that the H5N1 virus is spreading between humans, the WHO has warned that the increasing amount of cases involving mammals is a cause for concern.
During a press conference on Thursday, 18 April 2024, Jeremy Farrar, a chief scientist at the WHO, described avian influenza as “a global zoonotic animal pandemic” following the continued spread of the virus over the last couple of years.
Dr Farrar said: “The great concern, of course, is that in doing so and infecting ducks and chickens - but now increasingly mammals - that that virus now evolves and develops the ability to infect humans. And then critically, the ability to go from human-to-human transmission.”
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The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.
