Bird flu experts are warning that we could be "sleepwalking" into disaster, after it was disclosed that 53 per cent of the 860 people known to have had human cases of the avian disease between 2003 and 2023 have died.
Now Dr Quinton Fivelman, of London Medical Lab, joins the list of specialists sounding the alarm. He fears people are becoming “used to outbreaks on poultry farms” while the rising spread of the virus from birds to mammals was worrying.
Dr Fivelman said: “The fact that it is now spreading to mammals shows we cannot let our guard down against this virus. The higher number of cases mean a greater chance of mutation. It’s concerning there is no vaccine as yet.”
The first human cases were recorded in Hong Kong and China in 1997. British Medical Journal analysis published last week reported that, since 1997, more than 860 H5N1 human infections have been reported to the World Health Organization, between 2003 and 2022 in 19 countries - and 53% of these cases resulted in death.
Health officials are saying this is confirming the worst fears of scientists who predicted just last month that it could jump from mammals to humans . The girl first became ill a week ago, and just six days later she died, having suffered fever, coughs and a sore throat.
Her death was confirmed by the country's Communicable Disease Control Department, which stated that the girl, from the Prey Veng province in the south of the country, just a few miles east of the capital Phnom Penh, had “tested positive for H5N1”. As a result, the World Health Organisation warned: "The recent spill-over to mammals needs to be monitored closely."
It followed news a few weeks ago that a deadly strain of the avian bird flu had been discovered that had mutated and was now able to affect mammals. Scientists found that the avian flu had been transmitted from wild birds to a group of mink on a farm in the Spanish city of La Coruna.
The study, published on top infectious disease surveillance website Euro Surveillance, stated that the outbreak happened in Spain in October 2022.
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According to the government website gov.uk, there have been 174 confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 since October 1, 2022 in the UK — 147 cases in England, 21 in Scotland, 5 in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. There have been 282 cases of (HPAI) H5N1 in England since the H5N1 outbreak started in October 2021.
Earlier this month, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organisation's Director-General, expressed concern about avian influenza infections in mammals including minks, otters, foxes and sea lions. He advised people not to touch dead or sick wild animals and for countries to strengthen their surveillance of settings where people and animals interacted.
You can check here if you’re in a bird flu protection zone.
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