The bird flu may pose a serious threat this fall and winter in several countries in the world and the United Nations warned that preparations for potential outbreak should be made. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Monday warned that a resurgence of bird flu — H5N1 – -could be in the makings for this fall and winter.
The FAO issued a statement Monday reporting that a mutant strain of the deadly virus is already making rounds in Asia and there are “unpredictable risks” for health with this mutation.
The H5N1 virus first appeared in 2003 and has infected 565 people worldwide, with a death toll of 331; almost 60 percent of all cases ended in fatality. The most recent death occurred in Cambodia earlier this month. In total, Cambodia registered eight cases of H5N1 this year and each one has been fatal.
The virus has a firm hold on some countries — such as Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Vietnam — and those countries are expected to see more problems with the virus. Variant strains have appeared in China and Vietnam and current vaccines provide little defense against these mutated strains.
The FAO report noted that circulation of H5N1 in Vietnam poses increased risk for countries like Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and can create threats for Korea and Japan. The migration of wild birds has the potential to carry the virus to numerous countries and, as stated in the FAO report, “no country can consider itself safe.”
Other countries and regions that have reported new infections include Bulgaria, Israel, Mongolia, Nepal, the Palestinian Territories and Romania.
The FAO attributes the increase in spread of the virus to migratory bird patterns, spreading the virus among poultry and wild birds in countries that previously had not seen H5N1 cases.
According to Flu.gov, H5N1 bird flu “remains a serious concern with the potential to cause a deadly pandemic” but as yet has not been found in humans or birds in the United States. The virus is classified as an influenza A subtype. Symptoms include typical flu-like symptoms in addition to eye infections, pneumonia and respiratory disease. The virus can have life-threatening complications.
The majority of cases of bird flu have resulted from close contact with infected poultry or surfaces. There have been some human-to-human transmission cases but all were fatal before there was further spread of the virus.