<
https://www.politico.eu/article/bird-avian-flu-presents-growing-pandemic-threat-as-virus-evolves-efsa-ecdc/>
"Bird flu poses an increasing pandemic threat as it becomes more adaptive,
jumping to humans, pets and zoo animals, Europe’s disease and food agencies
warned on Wednesday.
They are urging countries to step up their surveillance and containment
measures to prevent the virus from continuing to evolve and become more
dangerous to people.
“In 2024, avian influenza viruses expanded their reach, infecting previously
unaffected species. Our work identifies key mutations linked to a potential
spread to humans, requiring rapid detection and response,” Bernhard Url, acting
executive director at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), said in a
press release.
Avian flu has been recorded at high levels among wild birds and farmed species
such as chickens in recent years. The virus has also jumped to other species
during this time including seals, and — notably in the United States — dairy
cattle.
But to date, cases among humans have been low. The U.K. reported its first case
of this winter on Monday, while there have been 67 cases in the United States
and one death.
The risk of infection for the general European population remains low, and
low-to-moderate for people routinely exposed to potentially infected animals.
But the situation would change if there was any “confirmed human-to-human
transmission,” said Edoardo Colzani, head of respiratory viruses at the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
And this risk is increasing. The ECDC and EFSA have identified 34 key genetic
mutations that make the virus more likely to jump from animals to humans but
also to replicate to allow human-to-human transmission.
The fact that the virus now contains all these characteristics is a “sporadic
event,” Alessandro Broglia, senior scientific officer at EFSA, told
POLITICO.
Out of 27,000 virus sequences assessed, 144 contained the characteristics
needed to jump and spread among people. “Those were mainly isolated in Asia and
Africa and never in Europe,” Broglia added."
Via Violet Bue’s
Threat Model - Covid: January 30, 2025
https://www.patreon.com/posts/covid-january-30-121085294
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
