Leading experts in the US have warned that America is facing another pandemic, as bird flu is spiraling out of control on American farms.
So far, the H5N1 outbreak in the US has affected almost 1,000 dairy herds and resulted in more than 70 cases in humans, including the first confirmed death.
Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, seven human cases of the H5N1 virus have been detected since 2021 — the two most recent patients were infected in January 2022 and January of this year.
British experts sounded the alarm after the world's first case of bird flu in sheep was discovered on a farm in Yorkshire.
Virology specialists warned of the "repeated transmission" of the potentially deadly infection to other mammals and highlighted its pandemic risk.
Now, an international team of experts from the Global Virus Network (GVN) has warned that the US poultry industry is at significant risk and has called for urgent measures to understand and interrupt transmission to prevent spread to humans.
Meanwhile, Dr. Marc Johnson, a virologist at the University of Missouri, warned on Twitter that the virus is "trying very hard" to "become a pandemic."
"It spreads a lot," he added.
The GVN also called for increased initiatives to "educate the public" about the dangers of bird flu.
The virus usually appears like a common flu.
Milder symptoms include cough, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, muscle or body aches, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, the news reports. GazetaExpress.com.
However, more severe symptoms have also been reported, including severe upper respiratory infections such as pneumonia requiring hospitalization, and high fever above 37.7°C.
Like COVID-19, avian influenza virus infection in humans cannot be diagnosed through clinical signs and symptoms alone; laboratory testing is required.
Swabs for bird flu testing can be taken from the throat, nose, or eye of a sick person.
US health authorities emphasize that testing is most accurate when the sample is taken during the first few days of illness.
For critically ill patients, collecting and testing samples from the lower respiratory tract can help diagnose avian influenza infection.
However, for some patients who are no longer sick or who have fully recovered, it may be difficult to detect the virus in samples.
In January, US officials reported the first death from bird flu in a person in Louisiana who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms.
The patient was said to be over 65 years old, had pre-existing health problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a domestic flock.
Genetic analysis of the patient's infection suggested that the bird flu virus had mutated within his body, which may have caused a more severe illness.
This came a month after California declared a state of emergency due to bird flu, in response to an outbreak among dairy cattle in the state.
The state identified H5N1 in 645 cattle herds since the first detection in late August, according to the California Department of Agriculture.
Nearly half of the cases were reported within 30 days, indicating the rapid spread of the virus.
Although California was not among the first states to detect H5N1 in cows, the outbreak has grown significantly since the initial detection.
Another worrying case involved a Canadian teenager who fell ill with the same strain of bird flu and was hospitalized on November 8 after falling ill on November 2.
According to the latest report in late November, the teenager was still in the hospital in critical condition and needed help breathing, but was in stable condition.
It was not clear how he had contracted the virus, as the dogs and reptiles he had come into contact with tested negative.
British experts have previously told MailOnline about the pandemic risk posed by H5N1 bird flu, but stressed that the current threat to the public is low.
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia, said: "The concern is that if the virus evolves further to be more capable of spreading to humans, then we would face the risk of another pandemic.
"There is no evidence of this at present, but such a development in the future cannot be ruled out."
People are unlikely to become infected with bird flu through the consumption of cooked poultry because the virus is sensitive to heat, and proper cooking kills the virus.
Infection in humans occurs mainly when the virus enters the eyes, nose, mouth, or is inhaled through breathing. /Express newspaper/
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