Health authorities in Russia have reported the World Health Organization, which is believed to be the first human case of H5N8 flu infection (bird flu).
“If confirmed, this is the first time H5N8 has infected people,” a WHO Europe spokesman confirmed in a statement to CNN.
There are different strains of bird flu, and every year new variations emerge, similar to human flu viruses.
In most cases, the virus strains infect birds only and are usually observed in poultry, where mass thinning follows the outbreak reported to limit the spread. However, as previously reported, humans are not infected with bird flu. Several tribes can make the leap, especially for farm workers who now have contact with bird species. Some of these outbreaks have caused anxiety for public health in the past, as certain strains of bird flu can be fatal.
The latest announcement reports seven poultry farm workers infected with a new type of bird flu, H5N8, in southern Russia. The outbreak of the H5N8 virus in poultry has been reported for the first time in various regions in Russia in recent months.
The statement from the World Health Organization confirmed that the individuals infected were “asymptomatic and that there was no further human-to-human transmission.”
The latest detection of H5N8 in humans could not have come at a worse time as the world is currently mastering the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Anna Popova, Russian head of public health, said in a televised speech on Saturday:
‘It is not transmitted from person to person. But only time will tell how quickly future mutations will make it possible to overcome this barrier, ‘she said. The discovery of this strain “now gives us all, the whole world, time to prepare for possible mutations and the ability to respond in time and develop test systems and vaccines.”
The Russian authorities are currently gathering more information on the matter, and the WHO has yet to officially confirm the reports.
If the virus were to mutate and reach human-to-human spread, it would cause serious concern, as previous transmissions of H5N1 and H7N9 influenza strains from birds to humans have resulted in a mortality rate of 60 percent and 39 percent, respectively.
The best way to deal with bird flu is currently to cull birds to stop the spread as soon as an outbreak is found on a farm. Human cases are isolated and genetic changes in the virus strains are closely monitored to predict whether the virus mutates in ways that can make human-to-human transmission more likely.