Somethings Happening with Bird Flu

The journal Nature recently published a study that concluded "something happened" in mid-2021, making avian influenza (bird flu) Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza viruses much more infectious.

While emphasizing that the risk to humans remains low, the experts who spoke to AFP Paris on June 3, 2023, indicated bird flu reports this year were a cause for concern, reported France24.

Published on May 29, 2023, a new study found the spread of A(H5N1) viruses worldwide, and detecting infections in mammals (foxes, skunks, bobcats, mountain lions, bears) and humans in the United States is noteworthy.

Except for pockets of endemic clade activity in South and Southeast Asia, clade 2.3.4.4b viruses have predominated over other A(H5Nx) clades over the past 18 months. As a result, clade 2.3.4.4b viruses have become entrenched in Asia, Europe, and probably in parts of Africa.

The increasing prevalence of 2.3.4.4b viruses are also changing the disease dynamics in Europe, with the potential for a transition from epizootic to enzootic status.

Our data highlight how quickly things can change in a natural system, and the potential for further A(H5Nx) reassortment and phenotypic diversification will only increase as the unprecedented global distribution of these viruses broadens, wrote these researchers.

As of May 2023, the Pan American Health Organization reported clade 2.3.4.4b had been detected in 16 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada.

In the U.S., over 58 million birds in 47 states have been impacted since early 2022.

In the case of a bird flu pandemic in 2023, the U.S. government has already approved vaccines and continues investing in newer technologies. Furthermore, annual flu shots are unlikely to protect people during avian influenza (bird flu) pandemics.

As of June 4, 2023, bird flu outbreak news is posted at Precision Vaccinations.