The U.N. has issued a warning that a mutant strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus, resistant to existing vaccinations, has begun to spreading throughout China and Vietnam. In a press release issued out of Rome, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that recent wild bird migrations have brought the deadly H5N1 virus back into countries that have remained free of the bird flu virus for years. Along with other factors, the migrations could lead to a possible resurgence of the bird flu virus, prompting the FAO to urge nations to increase surveillance to ensure containment of any outbreaks.
The H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus has now been reintroduced in to such countries as Bulgaria, Romania, Mongolia, Nepal, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. WHO has also reported that there have been 565 confirmed cases of H5N1 in humans, as well as 331 deaths, since the emergence of the virus in 2003. According to WHO, there have been 49 human cases of bird flu reported that have resulted in 25 deaths so far this year. The U.N. said that although outbreaks among both poultry and wild bird populations were greatly diminished from a height of 4,000 down to 302 in mid-2008, outbreaks have steadily been rising in number since that time, reaching nearly 800 reported cases reported in 2010-2011.
Even though the virus was virtually eliminated from nearly all of the 63 countries infected by the H5N1 virus by its peak in 2006, it has remained prevalent in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
According to FAO chief veterinary officer Juan Lubroth, “Wild birds may introduce the virus, but people’s actions in poultry production and marketing spread it.” In a statement, he warned, “The general departure from the progressive decline in 2004-2008 could mean that there will be a flare-up of H5N1 this fall and winter, with people unexpectedly finding the virus in their backyard.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines Avian influenza as an infection caused by avian (bird) influenza (flu) A viruses that occur naturally among birds. Although wild birds worldwide get flu A infections in their intestines, they normally do not get sick from these flu infections.
However, the infections are highly contagious among birds, and some can make certain domesticated bird species, such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys, extremely ill and kill them. Rarely, these viruses can occur in humans, although the risk from avian influenza is low for most people. Most cases of avian influenza infection in humans result from contact with infected poultry, or surfaces contaminated with secretion or excretions from infected birds.
Although it can spread to people who have extensive contact with infected birds, the transfer of avian influenza viruses from one ill person to another person has been reported very rarely, and has been limited. Also, the virus is not spread by eating poultry or eggs that have been properly prepared.
When contracted by humans, bird flu can cause a range of problems including eye infections, flu-like symptoms, severe respiratory problems, and even death. Although the spread of the virus from human to human remains rare, a mutation could make the virus easily transmissible from one person to another, which is a major public health concern.
Lubroth has previously cautioned, “As long as it is present in even one country, there is still a public health risk to be taken seriously.”