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The increasing number of cattle infected with bird flu in the USA is causing concern among researchers. What symptoms the H5N1 virus causes and how can one become infected.
Berlin – According to the CDC, there are now more than 130 recorded H5N1 infections in the USA. Compared to the more than 97 million birds infected worldwide, this is not a lot. However, the fact that mammals are becoming infected to this extent is considered alarming by many scientists. There is growing concern that the virus could increasingly spread to humans. The symptoms of bird flu are similar to those of the common seasonal flu.
Symptoms and risk of transmission of bird flu
A bird flu infection can be diagnosed using a sample from the nose or throat. The incubation period is one to five days, after which symptoms such as fever, coughing and shortness of breath can occur. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), transmission to humans is mainly possible through close contact with infected animals or their excretions. So far, no bird flu infections have been detected in humans in Europe and Germany.
In the US, the latest outbreak infected So far only a few people have been infected (as of 3 July)who had close occupational contact with presumably infected animals. According to the RKI, the symptoms of those affected were “mild” and ranged from respiratory complaints to conjunctivitis. Other possible symptoms of an H5N1 infection are:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- high fever
- Sore throat
- Muscle aches
- Diarrhea or vomiting
- Extreme breathing difficulties
- Pneumonia
The Human mortality from bird flu infection varies greatly depending on the strain and virus subtype. According to the RKI, the mortality rate can be between 20 and 60 percent. Since 2003, 2,600 H5N1 infections in humans and 1,100 deaths have been registered worldwide, mainly in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the journal MSD Manual Antiviral drugs such as baloxavir, oseltamivir and zanamivir are available, which can increase the chances of survival.
“Start of the next pandemic”? Concerns about transmission to humans are growing
In view of the bird flu infections that have now first appeared in dairy cows in the USA, the chief virologist at Berlin’s Charité, Christian Drosten, speaks about the possible danger of a pandemic. The spread of bird flu among mammals could be “mild, the virus needs several steps to adapt, and perhaps it will already be under control beforehand,” Drosten told the Editorial Network Germany“But it could also be the beginning of the next pandemic, which we are watching live here,” the expert continued.
Unlike the corona virus, the following applies to bird flu: “We have known for a very long time what we have to do for an influenza vaccine,” said the Vice President of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Martin Beer, to the German Press AgencyAs a preventive measure, candidate vaccines are regularly identified for protective vaccination against variants that could potentially cause a pandemic, the expert continued.. Helen Clark, author of a Expert report of the independent WHO panel for pandemic preparedness, recently came to a different conclusion. A bird flu pandemic could be “potentially even more catastrophic than Corona,” the expert said, according to the news agency AFP.
In the USA, however, experts are complaining that there is currently not enough rigorous action being taken against the spread of the bird flu virus. On Thursday (July 4), a fourth case of bird flu was reported in the USA following contact with cows. “My concern that it will spread to humans is growing every day – proportional to the spread – and we are hardly testing for it,” commented for example, Harvard scientist Michael MinaTransmission from person to person has not yet been documented. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said at the end of May that he currently sees no danger of a pandemic.
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