Bird flu may be developing 'under the radar', scientists say | Science & Technology News

A leading pandemic scientist warns that bird flu may be developing “under the radar” because the spread of the virus is not being monitored and controlled.

Dr. Thomas Peacock, a specialist in spread from animal to human of viruses at the Pirbright Institute, said H5N1 could be undetected in the US due to “months of missing data,” leaving researchers, veterinarians and authorities in the dark.

The viral disease is currently spreading among US dairy cows after being transmitted from wild birds earlier this year.

Four livestock workers were also infected, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently reported the first human case without known animal contact.

In all persons infected so far, symptoms have been mild.

Dr Peacock said: “What keeps scientists awake at night is the possibility of invisible chains of transmission spreading silently through farm workers’ barracks, piggeries or developing countries. These chains develop unnoticed because testing criteria are strict, government agencies are feared or resources are scarce.”

In the U.S., there is only mandatory reporting of the disease in poultry, not mammals. The Department of Agriculture requires testing only on dairy cattle before they are moved across state lines.

H5N1 has also spread through fur farms in Europe and among wild marine mammals worldwide.

Writing in the journal Nature, Dr Peacock and colleagues from the Pirbright Institute say the prospect of the highly pathogenic strain of bird flu becoming permanently established in Europe and America is a “watershed moment”.

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New control measures are needed, including vaccination, he said. Some vaccines already exist for poultry, but they do not prevent infection.

And new mRNA shots may be needed “on a large scale” if the virus starts to spread among people.

“The severity of a future H5N1 pandemic is still unclear,” he said.

“Recent human infections with H5N1 (in the United States) have had significantly lower mortality rates compared to previous H5N1 outbreaks in Asia, where half of the people with reported infections died.

“The lack of severity in US cases may be due to an infection through the eye, rather than a viral pneumonia.”

According to the CDC, the current risk to public health is low, but people who come into contact with infected animals are being closely monitored.