The World Health Organisation has said a close eye is being kept on a recent bird flu spillover to mammals and says the risk of human transmission remains low, but cannot be ruled out.
Speaking this week, WHO Director General, Tedro Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that cases have been reported in minks, otters, foxes, and sea lions in recent weeks, and authorities need to take appropriate action to monitor this.
He said: “For the moment, the WHO assesses the risk to humans as low.
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"But we cannot assume that will remain the case and we must prepare for any change in the status quo".
The H5N1 virus was detected in a mink farm outbreak in Spain's Galicia region.
A recent investigation found that mink-to-mink transmission may have taken place at the farm, but that all staff tested negative for the virus.
The alarm has been raised as avian flu poses an ongoing threat to human health due to its potential to cause a future pandemic, Dr. Ghebreyesus said, and therefore strong surveillance “remains critical”.
The WHO boss called on countries to bolster their surveillance of areas where humans and animals are interacting with one another.
He said the organisation is also working to ensure that if the worst does occur, supplies of vaccines and antivirals are available.
"WHO is also continuing to engage with manufacturers to make sure that, if needed, supplies of vaccines and antivirals would be available for global use," he said.
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