Alert on risk of H5N8 avian influenza spreading in humans

2021/05/20 Agirre Ruiz de Arkaute, Aitziber - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Mikrobiologia
• Zoologia

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has remained almost hidden, avian influenza has caused serious problems in the world by 2020. The strains of the H5N8 virus. has hit with force the birds of the farms of Eurasia and Africa.Millions of birds have been killed. It has even appeared in wild birds and last December the first cases were detected in humans. Experts increasingly consider the risk of avian influenza spreading in humans. This same week the journal Science has published data on the generation and zoonotic potential of the H5N8 virus.

The authors of the study have discovered that the spread of the disease is rapid and have warned of the virus's ability to cross borders between species. They therefore consider that H5N8 has already been a public health concern. In fact, there are already 46 countries in which H5N8 infections have been identified in birds, while in Russian nurseries seven workers have been positive. Researchers consider nursery care a priority. Among other proposals, it has been proposed to strengthen measures to control surveillance systems and infections of nurseries.

Scientists have long warned of the danger of zoonotic virus spread before the SARS-CoV2 pandemic occurred. However, it has always been considered that a flu virus would cause problems, in view of the strain of the H5N1 virus and its new genetic reorganizations (H5N2, H5N5, H5N6 and H5N8), what problems have been arising each year. Avian influenza has now been put back on the table with concern. At this time they stressed that the H5N8 could quickly spread to the whole world through migratory birds.