Bird flu a new threat to the world

IT is globally feared that the virus causing avian flu or bird flu is beginning to spill over into mammals, including humans. 

As per estimates, the world over, avian flu has killed 15 million domestic birds and led to the culling of an unprecedented 193 million more since October 2021. The virus has affected birds in Europe, Asia, North America and South and Central America.

It is no longer restricted to birds. It is reported that in the United States, the list of wild mammals either killed by or culled over avian influenza outbreaks is growing: grizzly bears in Nebraska and Montana, a red fox in Montana, six skunks and raccoons in Oregon, a Kodiak bear in Alaska and more.

In January, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported avian influenza in a young girl in Ecuador, the first such case ever in Latin America.

There have only been five human bird flu cases in the last year. But past human cases of H5N1 avian influenza have had 53 percent mortality, according to the WHO.

WHO recently issued a bird flu alert and termed it as a new threat to the world. This disease can infect birds as well as humans. Its four strains of H5N1, H7N9, H5N6, and H5N8 are more dangerous. Out of this, cases of the H5N1 virus have been found in mammalian organisms. 

WHO said that bird flu is a *zoonotic virus, so at present, the risk of its spread is high in animals. However, one needs to take it seriously as the early strains of coronavirus were also zoonotic and we all saw how it turned into a pandemic. That's why the health organization and experts are closely monitoring the cases of bird flu. *(of disease) able to spread from animals to humans.)

WHO advises not to touch any dead or sick wild animals during this time and also report them to the local authorities. WHO is working with national authorities to closely monitor the situation and study cases of H5N1 infection in humans. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, infection with the bird flu virus can cause illness in humans ranging from no symptoms or mild illness to severe illness. If the situation is serious, the victim may also die.

Bird Flu: Signs and Symptoms

• Very high fever

• Muscle soreness

• Severe upper back pain

• Headache

• Cough and shortness of breath

• Diarrhoea

• Abdominal pain

• Blood in the sputum

• Pain in chest

• Bleeding nose or gums

• Eye drop

Those at risk of the infection should get in touch with the nearest health centre or a doctor on noticing any of these symptoms or if they have respiratory problems. 

For the moment, the risk of consistent bird flu transmissions to — and between — humans is low, according to scientists. But the fast-proliferating avian influenza infection is becoming a contender virus that could drive the next pandemic, one with a mortality rate that, if it spreads among humans, could make Covid-19 seem mild in comparison, according to Al Jazeera.

There are two potential ways humans can get an H5N1 respiratory infection: from animals or through person-to-person spread. The latter has only been suspected in an exceedingly small and largely unconfirmed handful of cases — the most recent being from 10 years ago.

The threat of an H5N1 pandemic is not currently high. However, sooner or later, “there will be another influenza pandemic,” warns Wenqing Zhang, the head of WHO global influenza programme. If the culprit of that pandemic is avian influenza, the consequences could be heavy.