Experts say bird flu threat small despite Cambodian fatality

The World Health Organization’s top official, who is responding to the death of an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia who was infected with bird flu, said on Friday that the global spread of the virus and human infection is now “worrying”.

Dr. Sylvie Briand, WHO director for epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the United Nations agency “is in close communication with the Cambodian authorities to find out more about the outbreak.”

Speaking before a meeting in Geneva on the influenza vaccine, Briand called the global situation regarding the virus “worrying because of the spread of the virus in birds around the world, and the increasing number of reports of cases in mammals, including humans.”

“WHO takes the risk of this virus very seriously and calls for increased vigilance from all countries,” he said.

Independent experts have also expressed concern about the wave of bird flu, or avian flu, which has been spreading around the world since late 2021, posing a risk to public health.

The Cambodian girl, from a village in the southeastern province of Prey Veng, died Wednesday in a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, shortly after tests confirmed she had Type A H5N1 bird flu, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Health. He fell ill on February 16, and when his condition deteriorated, he was sent to the hospital with a fever of 39 C, with a cough and sore throat.

The girl’s father tested positive for the virus but did not show any major symptoms, health authorities said on Friday.

Health Ministry spokesman Ly Sovann told The Associated Press that the Cambodian father’s case is under investigation, and it is not yet known how he became infected. He has been isolated in a local district hospital for monitoring and treatment.

The ministry team collected samples from 12 people from the dead girl’s village who had been in direct contact with her, and laboratory tests confirmed on Friday that only her father was infected.

Briand spoke ahead of a meeting of scientists, regulators and vaccine manufacturers who meet twice a year to decide which seasonal flu strains will be included in the vaccine for the coming winter – in this case for the northern hemisphere.

At this week’s meeting, H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b was the main topic, said WHO and global flu experts. Experts have been tracking H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b since its emergence in 2020, and recent reports of mass deaths in infected mammals range from seals to bears.

Experts discuss vaccines, virus strains

Experts are also discussing the development of a potential vaccine.

Laboratories associated with the WHO already have two strains of flu viruses related to the H5N1 virus circulating, which vaccine manufacturers can use to make human vaccines if needed. One was added after the previous WHO flu meeting in September 2022, and experts decided at this week’s meeting to add another subtype that better matches the spread of the virus among animals.

Some companies that produce seasonal flu vaccines may also make pandemic flu vaccines. For example, GSK and CSL Seqirus have worked with the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to test a shot based on one of the related strains.

Having this strain ready could save about two months on vaccine development, said the WHO’s Briand.

But getting enough vaccines developed quickly will remain a challenge in a pandemic situation, experts say.

Bird flu, also known as bird flu, is usually spread between sick birds but can sometimes spread from birds to humans. The detection of new infections in various mammals, including in a large mink farm in Spain, has raised concerns among experts that the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people – and could lead to a pandemic.

The threat to humans remains low, officials said

Health experts have expressed concern about the wave of bird flu that has swept the world over the past year and a half, but they consider the current risk to humans to be low.

“There is a big global challenge for wild and domestic birds with the current H5N1 avian flu virus over the past few months and years, which will expose many humans; despite this, what is remarkable is that few people are infected,” Prof. James Wood, head of the department of medicine veterinary at the University of Cambridge England, said in an email statement.

“Although this case in Cambodia is tragic, we expect that there will be some cases of clinical disease with widespread infection. Clearly the virus needs careful monitoring and surveillance to check that it has not mutated or merged, but the number of cases is limited. The human disease has not increased , and this single case in itself does not signal that the global situation has suddenly changed.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 56 cases of bird flu in humans in Cambodia from 2003 to 2014, and 37 of those cases were fatal. Globally, about 870 human infections and 457 deaths have been reported to WHO in 21 countries, with a total mortality rate of 53 percent.

But the pace is slowing, and there have been about 170 infections and 50 deaths in the past seven years. In most cases, infected people get it directly from infected birds.

“Between 2005 and 2020, 246 million birds will die or be killed due to avian influenza,” says the World Organization for Animal Health.

“Since October 2021, an unprecedented number of outbreaks have been reported in several regions of the world, reaching new geographical areas and causing a devastating impact on animal health and welfare,” the Paris-based agency said on its website.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agree that the current H5N1 outbreak is largely an animal health problem.

“However, people should avoid direct and close contact with sick or dead wild birds, poultry and wild animals,” it said on its website. “People should avoid consuming uncooked or undercooked poultry or poultry products, including raw eggs. Consuming properly cooked poultry, poultry products, and eggs is safe.”