The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday said it is “closely monitoring” the detection of bird flu in mammals recently reported in several countries including the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.
In a virtual press conference, WHO confirmed a spillover of the H5N1 Avian Influenza strain to small mammals but said the virus’ transmission to humans remains “low.”
“Over the past few weeks, there have been several reports of mammals including minks, foxes, otters, and sea lions having been infected with H5N1 Avian Influenza,” said WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“H5N1 has spread widely on wild birds and farm poultry for 25 years but the recent spillover to mammals needs to be monitored closely.”
“For the moment, WHO assesses the risk to humans as ‘low’ since H5N1 first emerged in 1996, we have only seen rare and non-sustained transmission of H5N1 to and between humans,” he said.
According to a report by Agence-France Presse, the spillover of the highly transmissible virus common among wild birds and domestic poultry was reported in the United Kingdom, United States, and France.
However, Ecuador reported South America’s first case of the A(H5) bird flu virus in a human last month — a nine-year-old girl who was in contact with backyard poultry.
WHO said the case is “rare” and it has not since received any similar reports of infection.
The Department of Health is closely monitoring developments of the H5N1 avian influenza.
At the sidelines of the launch of new facilities at the Philippine Orthopedic Center Thursday, DOH officer in charge Ma. Rosario Vergeire said the agency is preparing for the possible health event.
“If you remember, reports like this have emerged in other parts of the world where H5N1 is being watched. So, last year we convened the Interagency Committee on Environmental Health, which is part of our strengthened surveillance efforts,” she said.
Since late 2021, Europe has been gripped by its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu, with North and South America also experiencing severe noutbreaks.
This has led to the culling of tens of millions of domestic poultry worldwide, many with the H5N1 strain of the virus. The global outbreak is also responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of wild birds.
The recent detection of the disease in several mammals, including foxes, otters, minks, sea lions and even grizzly bears, has sparked growing concern that humans could be more at risk.
“First to reassure you, since those cases, we never had… no more human cases with H5N1 in the recent days. Those cases are quite rare, and they are due to direct exposure of humans to infected animals,” WHO Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention Director Dr. Sylvie Briand said.
Briand clarified the virus is “zoonotic” and remains “very adaptive” to animals and not humans, adding that due to its attributes, it is vital to contain the spread of the virus in animals to prevent transmission to the human population.
Ghebreyesus said the WHO is continuously coordinating with national authorities and partners in surveilling the transmission of the bird flu.
He also advised the public to remain vigilant and refrain from touching dead or sick animals to prevent being at risk of the virus.
“We cannot assume it will remain the case and we must remain on any change in the status quo. As always, people are advised not to touch or collect dead or sick animals but to report them to the local authorities,” Ghebreyesus added.
Tedros noted that since the virus first emerged in 1996, “we have only seen rare and non-sustained transmission of H5N1 to and between humans.”
But, he cautioned, “we cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo.”
Tedros called on countries to “strengthen surveillance in settings where humans, farmed or wild animals interact.”
“WHO is also continuing to engage with manufacturers to make sure that if needed, supplies of vaccines and antivirals would be available for global use,” he said.
Over the last two decades, there have been 868 confirmed H5N1 cases in humans with 457 deaths, according to the WHO. There were four confirmed human cases and one death last year.