The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)The U. S. Department of Homeland Security notified the public in early April that an individual in Texas had tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, or avian influenza. The only symptom of this user is conjunctivitis (or redness of the eyes) after being exposed to dairy farm animals suspected of being infected with HPAI. This is the second documented human case of bird flu in the United States since 2022, which has raised concerns about a significant outbreak, or potentially pandemic, in the human population.
Influenza viruses, which cause annual outbreaks of mild to severe respiratory illness, are not unique to humans. Some subtypes of influenza circulate among animals, including birds, pigs, horses, dogs, and bats. Infection in some animals, such as wild waterfowl, may be asymptomatic (i. e. , the infection does not produce pathological effects) and those animals are a plant reservoir of the virus. However, transmission of the virus to other animals, such as garden flocks or poultry, can have devastating consequences.
Since January 2022, the largest outbreak of avian influenza in recorded history has occurred worldwide. To date, a subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as H5N1, has been detected in more than 9,000 wild birds and has affected more than 90 million poultry in the United States. Recently, the virus has become known in some mammals, including dairy cattle, raising considerations that it would possibly adapt for more effective transmission between mammalian species. While sequencing studies have yet to prove this to be the case, recent human studies in the Texas case have some wondering, “Could bird flu lead to the next pandemic?”
In early 2020, a new virus, now known as SARS-CoV-2, began circulating around the world. The human population had no prior immunity to this virus, there was no vaccine or remedy, and there was limited knowledge of how the virus spread. and the mechanisms through which it caused the disease. These issues have contributed to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to more than 700 million cases and 7 million deaths worldwide. Although HPAI has the potential to cause a significant outbreak in the human population, there are several significant differences between HPAI that make a global pandemic of the scale of Covid-19 less likely.
The H5N1 subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza was first known in southern China in 1996, an outbreak in domestic waterfowl, and has led to more than 850 human infections with a mortality rate of more than 50%. Since then, this influenza virus, along with other low- and high-pathogenic subtypes, has caused epidemics in animals and, less commonly, in humans. This has allowed researchers, infectious disease specialists, and public health officials to examine these viruses and gain valuable data on their transmission, pathogenicity, and prospects. Deals.
One of the most demanding situations in the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic was that we had no way of identifying who was inflaming it. This allowed cases to go undiagnosed and fueled the spread of the virus. On the other hand, some of the tests that we have recently used to diagnose human influenza (adding molecular tests (e. g. PCR)) we come across strains of avian influenza, adding H5N1. However, most are not able to subtype the virus. In other words, existing flu tests can tell us that we are affected by a flu virus, but we are not able to differentiate a common human subtype, such as H3N2, from an avian subtype, such as H5N1. Partnerships are recently being established to expand express testing for highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza.
Since we’ve known about HPAI for about three decades, this has given researchers time to examine and expand prevention and treatment tools. There is a vaccine candidate that opposes H5N1, and studies have shown that it is expected to elicit a physically powerful immune reaction. opposite to the newly circulating subtype of avian influenza. The CDC has shared it with vaccine manufacturers, so that production and deployment can happen quickly, if needed. In addition, several FDA-approved antiviral drugs are used to treat human influenza, and knowledge suggests that those treatments are also effective against HPAI. These existing antivirals would help reduce the occurrence of severe HPAI cases and deaths.
Although the existing threat of a human HPAI outbreak is low, there are still several steps you can take. First of all, avoid contact with unfit or dead animals, especially birds or livestock. If you will have to come into contact with those animals, wear eye protection, an N95 respirator, and gloves. And finally, get tested for the flu and notify your local or national public health government if symptoms increase, adding sore throat, cough, fever, body aches, or conjunctivitis, after you’ve been exposed. to an animal that may have HPAI.
A community. Lots of voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.
Our network aims to connect other people through open and thoughtful conversations. We need our readers to share their perspectives and exchange ideas and facts in one space.
To do so, please comply with the posting regulations in our site’s terms of use. We’ve summarized some of those key regulations below. Simply put, civilian.
Your message will be rejected if we notice that it appears to contain:
User accounts will be blocked if we become aware that users are participating in:
So how can you become a user?
Thank you for reading our Community Standards. Read the full list of publishing regulations discovered in our site’s terms of use.