Highly Infectious H5N8 Bird Flu Virus Now in 46 Countries, Can It Be the Next Pandemic? Scientists Who Warn of COVID-19 Sees Possibility

As the world battles against the novel coronavirus, last year was also a year when another highly infectious virus is spreading that could pose threat to public health. Chinese scientists warn that the global spread of the H5N8 bird flu virus is a public health concern that already affected 46 countries.

Weifeng Shi, director and professor at the Institute of Pathogen Biology at Shandong First Medical University in China, and George Gao, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, are the two scientists who participated in the identification of COVID-19 in 2019.

They predicted in their article, "Emerging H5N8 avian influenza viruses," in the journal Science that the H5N8 bird flu virus can cause disastrous pandemics in humanity.

H5N8 Bird Flu Virus Infecting Humans

ScienceAlert reported that H5N8 is a subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) and was identified many decades ago. But the emerging cases of the bird flu virus in 2020 across avian populations in dozens of countries have led to the death and slaughter of millions of birds around the world.

Weifing Shi said that the avian virus has been expanding exponentially, affecting at least 46 countries that reported highly pathogenic H5N8 outbreaks.

"It is imperative that the global spread and potential risk of H5N8 avian influenza viruses to birds are not ignored. poultry, wild birds and for global public health, "the scientists wrote in Science.

Although the avian virus usually infects different kinds of birds, including farmed chicken and ducks, and wild birds, human cases of the virus have also been recorded.

For instance, the bird flu from poultry in Russia last December 2020 was reportedly transmitted to seven poultry workers. They showed signs of the infection, which represents the first time that the H5N8 bird flu virus had ever been found in humans.

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Bird Flu Virus Has Low Risk of Human to Human Transmission

The scientists noted that it may be the first time for H5N8 to be detected in humans, other types of avian virus have also infected humans in the past.

As of date, the World Health Organization said that there are a total of 862 laboratory-confirmed humans cases of H5N1, including 455 deaths. They explained that these cases mostly happened in 17 countries with approximately 76% came from Egypt and Indonesia.

According to Explica.co, the United Nations health agency was cautious in such cases and said that there is a low risk for a human to human transmission. In addition, the European health agency ECDC carried out a risk assessment and also rated it low for poultry workers to be infected with the avian virus.

Ultimately, the scientists said that prevention and control measures on avian viruses in poultry farms should be improved before pathogens could further spread.