Scientists warn that bird flu could be quietly evolving | Science & Technology Updates
Bird flu may be “evolving under the radar” due to failures in monitoring and controlling the virus spread, as warned by a prominent pandemic scientist.
Dr. Thomas Peacock, a specialist in animal-to-human transmission of viruses at The Pirbright Institute, expressed concerns that the H5N1 virus could be circulating unnoticed in the US due to missing data, leaving researchers, veterinarians, and authorities unaware.
The virus is currently passing between dairy cows in the US after originating from wild birds earlier in the year.
Additionally, four workers on cattle farms have been infected, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported the first human case with no known contact with animals.
This electron microscope image shows avian influenza A virus (bird flu) particles, red/yellow, grown in cultured cells. Pic: CDC, NIAID via AP
So far, symptoms have been mild in all infected individuals.
Dr. Peacock stated: “The concern for scientists is the potential of unnoticed transmission chains silently spreading in farm worker accommodations, swine barns, or developing nations, evolving undetected due to limited testing criteria, government apprehension, or resource constraints.”
In the US, only poultry diseases are mandatorily reported, not those in mammals. The Department of Agriculture requires testing only on lactating cattle before inter-state movement.
H5N1 has also spread in fur farms in Europe and wild marine mammals globally.
Dr. Peacock and colleagues at The Pirbright Institute, in a publication in the journal Nature, emphasized that the possibility of the highly pathogenic bird flu strain establishing itself permanently in Europe and the Americas is a critical juncture.
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Dr. Peacock stressed the need for new control measures, including vaccination. While some poultry vaccines exist, they do not prevent infection.
If the virus begins spreading among humans, new mRNA vaccines may be required on a large scale.
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“The severity of a future H5N1 pandemic remains uncertain,” he added.
“Recent cases of H5N1 infection in the US have a lower fatality rate compared to previous outbreaks in Asia, where half of reported cases resulted in death.
“The milder US cases may be due to infection via the eye rather than through viral pneumonia in the lungs.”
The CDC has stated that the current public health threat is low, but individuals exposed to infected animals are under close monitoring.
