(NewsNation) – Is a bird flu pandemic imminent? Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield seems to think so, saying it’s just a question of when it will happen.
Over the past two years, bird flu has been blamed for the deaths of millions of wild and domestic birds around the world. However, it seems that this hardly affected people.
Redfield told NewsNation’s Brian Entin on Friday that he believes “bird flu could get into humans” and could cause “significant mortality.”
He also cited growing concern over avian flu, as the virus was detected in dozens of cattle across the country and the World Health Organization identified the first human death in Mexico.
“I really think it’s very likely that we will, at some point. It’s not a question of if, but rather a question of when we will have an avian flu pandemic,” Redfield said.
He also noted that avian flu causes “significant mortality” when it enters humans compared to COVID-19. Redfield predicts that mortality is “probably between 25 and 50 percent.” NewsNation noted that the death rate from COVID-19 was 0.6%.
What is bird flu and how is it spread?
Avian flu, commonly known as bird flu, is an infection caused by a type of influenza virus that typically spreads among birds and other animals, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The virus typically spreads among birds, but can also infect humans if they come into contact with an infected animal’s bodily fluids, “such as sputum, respiratory droplets or feces,” the medical center said.
It can also spread if a human breathes small dust particles in animal habitats or if they come into contact with their eyes, nose, or mouth after touching animal body fluids. People who work with poultry, waterfowl and livestock are most vulnerable to the virus.
It is “extremely rare” for the virus to spread from one human to another, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
What must happen for this to spread between humans?
Redfield said he knows exactly what needs to happen for the bird flu virus to get to the point where it would spread to humans because he has done lab research on it.
Scientists have discovered that five amino acids must change in the key avian flu receptor to tend to bind to a human receptor “and then be able to jump from human to human” as COVID-19 has done, a Redfield said.
“Once the virus acquires the ability to attach to the human receptor and then move from one human to another, that’s when you will have a pandemic,” he said. declared. “And like I said, I think it’s just a matter of time.”
Redfield said he doesn’t know how long it will take for all five amino acids to change, but with it being detected in cattle herds across the country, he is a little concerned.
Researchers still don’t know how the recent outbreak of bird flu spread to livestock, but the leading theory is that it is linked to milking machines that could be carrying the virus, said Jenna Guthmiller, assistant professor of immunology and microbiology at the University. from the Colorado School of Medicine, said in the university newspaper.
She said high levels of virus have been found in cows’ udders and infection appears limited to dairy cows, supporting that possibility.
“Influenza A has never been recorded in cows in this way before. There are occasional infected cows, but they are not natural hosts for the influenza A virus, so it’s really quite shocking on the ground,” she said.
More than 40 cattle herds nationwide have confirmed cases of the virus. The CDC is tracking wastewater treatment sites to determine where the virus is located, but the agency said the general public’s current risk of contracting the virus is low.
How does bird flu impact humans and should I be concerned?
There have been three confirmed human cases of bird flu this year: one in Texas and two in Michigan.
All three were farm workers directly exposed to dairy cattle suspected of being infected with avian flu.
The first two infected people reported relatively mild symptoms, including eye inflammation, state officials said.
The latest case, reported Friday in Michigan, had a variety of symptoms, including upper respiratory problems, sore throat, cough and congestion, according to the CDC.
Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, said at a news conference that there is no indication yet that the virus is spreading from person to person, although the risk increases with respiratory symptoms.
“Simply put, a person who is coughing may be more likely to transmit the virus than someone who has an eye infection like conjunctivitis,” he said.
The CDC is monitoring 350 people who were exposed to infected dairy cows for flu-like symptoms. Thirty-nine people have been tested for the virus, according to agency data.
The agency says the current risk of contracting the virus for the general public is low, as these cases are rare in humans.
“At present, the H5N1 avian flu situation remains primarily an animal health problem. However, the CDC is monitoring this situation closely and is taking routine preparedness and prevention measures in case this virus evolves and poses a greater risk to human health,” the CDC said.
What are the symptoms of bird flu in humans?
According to the CDC, symptoms of bird flu in humans range from red eyes or mild upper respiratory flu symptoms to pneumonia, high fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose or stuffiness, muscle or body pain, headache, fatigue and shortness of breath. shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
Less common signs and symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting or seizures, according to the agency.
The avian flu vaccine is made from eggs, which has concerned some medical researchers because of the possibility that wild birds could carry the virus into the chicken coops needed to produce the vaccine.
To make the raw material for a flu vaccine, the virus is grown in millions of fertilized eggs. Sometimes it doesn’t grow well, or it mutates to such an extent that the vaccine product stimulates antibodies that don’t neutralize the virus – or the wild virus mutates to such an extent that the vaccine no longer works against it.
But a new experimental mRNA vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine could help manage the H5N1 virus outbreak seen in birds and livestock and also prevent human infections.
Unlike other flu vaccines, mRNA vaccines do not require eggs for development.
Cassie Buchman of the Associated Press and NewsNation contributed to this story.