In mid-July, the U. S. state of Colorado reported six cases of avian influenza (or H5N1) in samples taken from poultry workers. This brings the national total to 10 registered through the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). U. S. since April 2024.
The United States government has intensified zoonosis/animal and is now finding more cases of virus infection in cows and other mammals. To date, the H5N1 virus has been reported in more than 160 cow herds.
The rising number of cases comes amid growing fears about the spread of the virus, with a recent study published in the journal Nature suggesting that the H5N1 discovered in cows would possibly be more adaptable to humans.
In reaction to this situation, the United States government recently awarded a $176 million allocation to Moderna to conduct clinical trials of an mRNA vaccine against the virus. Other countries are also paying attention, and Finland is launching a vaccination crusade to protect communities most threatened by the virus. disease.
Increasingly common reports of new cases have led some experts to recommend that some other pandemic scenario could be on the horizon. Although it is not a certainty, we will have to prepare for it. However, the world’s willingness to respond to such health threats still seems fragmented and inequitable. We are all affected by the fact that we still do not have good enough equipment for early detection and containment.
What we know so far is that H5N1 is a fast-moving virus that can cause severe illness and even death. However, the lack of diagnostic testing and genetic sequencing for humans and animals clouds our understanding of how the virus mutates and whether potential mutations exist. That may simply increase the likelihood of human-to-human transmission. The lack of attention paid to monitoring and investment in diagnostics is irresponsible.
This is about avoiding repeating the mistakes of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when it comes to the H5N1 virus, where the dangers may be even greater due to its maximum mortality rate. Over the past 20 years, fatal outcomes have been reported in approximately 50% of known cases.
Infections are most likely underreported and underdiagnosed due to limited testing capacity, which may result in a decreased mortality rate. Furthermore, this rate would not necessarily replicate if the virus became established in the human population. However, there is a threat that an H5N1 pandemic will be very different from the COVID-19 pandemic and more deadly.
The bad news is that there is currently no commercially available diagnostic test to specifically detect H5N1. Nucleic acid-based (molecular) tests are currently the most popular solution for detecting influenza virus, but their use requires laboratory infrastructure. And even if such infrastructure were available, it might not work fast enough. For example, when an Australian woman in poor health was tested for bird flu in March, it took several weeks to test positive.
As seen in the COVID-19 pandemic, immediate tests that can provide a result in about 10 to 15 minutes are an essential tool to control the epidemic, even if they are less delicate than molecular tests. Investing in studies and advances that lead to immediate and affordable testing for H5N1 can lay the foundation for preparedness.
Testing will be carried out internationally (aggregated in low- and middle-income countries) and will prioritize populations where there is a threat of human exposure to the virus, such as farms or veterinary clinics.
Strengthening monitoring of bird and animal populations, educating staff well, optimizing reporting mechanisms, and employing cutting-edge technologies such as synthetic intelligence for immediate research deserve to be priorities for governments. Incentives are also needed to inspire at-risk populations, most recently those who run animals in potentially poor health, to get tested.
Effective and ongoing collaboration is also essential for the progress and sharing of remedies and vaccines. Partnerships, such as the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, which includes fitness leaders from the World Health Organization; the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND); Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) – will be used to inspire governments and pharmaceutical corporations to ensure that fitness countermeasures are produced on a giant scale and available in all countries.
It’s not about charity, it’s about investing in global public health to ensure that we are all protected. No country can prevent a pandemic on its own.
Possibly more than a million lives would have been lost to the COVID-19 pandemic due to inequality. We’ll have to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Efforts will need to be made to help low- and middle-income countries access all necessary countermeasures to fight the next pandemic.
Action is needed now, while human-to-human transmission has still been detected, so that, if necessary, an immediate and coordinated global response against H5N1 can be implemented.
The new cases in Colorado don’t portend the end of the world that’s about to happen, but they’re a sign worth paying attention to. While the United States and other Western countries must take action, poorer countries that lack resources or access to generation cannot.
This unequal situation not only threatens national health security, but also hampers the world’s ability to prevent an H5N1 pandemic should it arise. World leaders will need to recognize the interdependence of fitness systems and dedicate themselves to distributing resources equitably.
If H5N1 begins to spread from person to person and we are not prepared for it, we will pay a high price in terms of human lives and livelihoods.
The perspectives expressed in this article are those of and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.