In mid-July, the US state of Colorado reported six cases of avian flu (or H5N1) in samples taken from poultry workers. This brings the national total to 10 registered through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since April 2024.
The United States government has intensified zoonosis/animal and is now finding more cases of virus infection in cows and other mammals. To date, the H5N1 virus has been reported in more than 160 cow herds.
The rising number of cases comes amid growing fears about the spread of the virus, with a recent study published in the journal Nature suggesting that the H5N1 discovered in cows would possibly be more adaptable to humans.
In reaction to this situation, the United States government recently awarded a $176 million allocation to Moderna to conduct clinical trials of an mRNA vaccine against the virus. Other countries are also paying attention to these developments, and Finland has introduced a vaccination campaign aimed at the protective communities most exposed to the disease.
Rising reports of new cases have led some experts to recommend that another pandemic scenario is possibly on the horizon. Even if it is not a certainty, we will have to prepare for it. However, the world’s willingness to respond to such health threats remains fragmented and inequitable. It affects us all that we still do not have good enough equipment for early detection and containment.
What we know so far is that H5N1 is a fast-moving virus that can cause serious illness and even death. However, the lack of diagnostic testing and genetic sequencing for humans and animals clouds our idea of how the virus mutates and whether possible mutations exist. that may simply increase the likelihood of person-to-person transmission. The lack of attention paid to monitoring and investment in diagnosis is irresponsible.
It’s about avoiding repeating the mistakes of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when it comes to the H5N1 virus, where the dangers can be even greater due to its maximum mortality rate. Over the past 20 years, fatal outcomes have been reported in approximately 50% of known cases.
Most likely, infections went unreported and undiagnosed due to limited testing capacity, which can lead to a decreased mortality rate. Moreover, this rate would not necessarily be reproduced if the virus were to become established in the human population. However, there is a threat that an H5N1 pandemic will be very different from COVID-19 and more deadly.
The bad news is that at this time there are no commercially available diagnostic tests to specifically detect H5N1. Nucleic acid-based (molecular) tests are currently the most popular option for detecting influenza viruses, but their use requires laboratory testing. For example, when an Australian woman with health problems was tested for bird flu in March, it took her several weeks to get a positive result.
As seen in the COVID-19 pandemic, immediate testing that can provide a result in about 10 to 15 minutes is an essential tool to control the epidemic, even if it is less delicate than molecular tests. Investing in studies and advances that lead to immediate and affordable testing for H5N1 can lay the groundwork for preparation.
Testing should be conducted internationally (including in low- and middle-income countries) and prioritize populations where there is a threat of human exposure to the virus, such as farms or veterinary clinics.
Strengthening monitoring of bird and animal populations, educating staff well, optimizing reporting mechanisms, and employing cutting-edge technologies such as synthetic intelligence for immediate research deserve to be priorities for governments. Incentives are also needed to inspire at-risk populations, most recently those who run animals in potentially poor health, to get tested.
Effective and continued collaboration in the progression and sharing of remedies and vaccines is also essential. Partnerships, such as the COVID-19 Tools Access Accelerator, which includes fitness leaders from the World Health Organization; the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND); Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), will be used to inspire governments and pharmaceutical corporations to ensure health countermeasures are produced at scale and available in all countries.
It’s not about charity, it’s about investing in global public health to ensure that we are all protected. No country can prevent a pandemic on its own.
More than a million lives may have been lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic due to inequality. We will have to make sure that this does not happen again. Efforts are worth making to help low- and middle-income countries access all mandatory countermeasures to fight the next pandemic.
It is necessary to act now, while human-to-human transmission has still been detected, so that, if necessary, an immediate and coordinated global reaction against H5N1 can be implemented.
The new cases in Colorado do not recommend that the end of the world is about to happen, but they are a sign that must be paid attention to. While the United States and other Western countries must take action, poorer countries that lack resources or access to generation cannot do so. .
This unequal situation not only threatens national health security, but also hinders the world’s ability to prevent an H5N1 pandemic should it arise. World leaders will need to recognize the interdependence of fitness systems and dedicate themselves to distributing resources equitably.
If H5N1 begins to spread from person to person and we are not prepared for it, we will pay a high price in terms of human lives and livelihoods.
The perspectives expressed in this article are those of and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.