First human case of H5N1 detected in Australia
Baku, May 22, AZERTAC
Australia has reported its first human case of the H5N1 avian influenza in a child who recently returned from India, according to The Telegraph.
The case marks the first time the highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, which has killed millions of birds and mammals since it began circulating in 2020, has been detected on the continent.
The child contracted the virus in India in March of this year - likely through contact with a sick bird - and experienced a “severe infection,” but has since made a full recovery, according to local health authorities.
Officials said contact tracing has not identified any further infections and that the risk of transmission to others was “very low”, as the virus has not yet shown evidence that it can spread between people.
The Department of Health in the Australian state of Victoria, where the human case was identified, are also responding to an outbreak of avian influenza at a poultry farm but has said that it is an unrelated incident.
Although H5N1 infections in people are rare, the highly pathogenic virus carries an alarmingly high mortality rate. Of the 800 cases reported since the late 1990s, roughly 50 per cent resulted in death.
The virus has recently broken out among dairy cattle in the US in an unprecedented outbreak.
So far, 51 herds in nine US states have been affected, although experts think it is far more widespread.
The apparent ability of the virus to spread between cows is significant because it provides more opportunities for it to evolve to better infect and spread between other mammals.
Of particular concern is whether H5N1 might now be able to infect pigs, often described as ‘mixing vessels’ for influenza and making it more likely that the virus could adapt to spread between humans.
So far this year, there have been two other confirmed human cases of H5N1.
In Vietnam, a man died in March after direct contact with an infected bird, whilst in Texas a farm worker caught the virus from sick cattle – although his symptoms were mild.
The US Centre for Disease Control is monitoring a further 300 people who have been exposed to the virus via cattle for signs of infection.
The WHO still considers the risk to humans low but urged countries to rapidly share information to enable real-time monitoring of the situation to ensure preparedness as the virus continues to spread.
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