Pregnant women who contract bird flu face alarmingly high mortality rates and most fetuses also do not survive, according to a study. Australian review published in Emerging Infectious Diseases. The study examined the impact of highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) on pregnant women, highlighting the serious outcomes of this virus, which is spreading globally among birds and some mammals.
Dr Rachael Purcell, an infectious diseases researcher at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, explained why pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. “A pregnant woman’s immune system does not function in the same way as before pregnancy,” she said.
“Unvaccinated pregnant women who get other viruses like COVID-19 or seasonal flu often get sicker than non-pregnant women, but we didn’t really know much about what happens to women with bird flu.”
The review analyzed more than 1,500 studies and identified 30 confirmed cases of bird flu in pregnant women in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and the United States. The findings were compelling: 90% of infected pregnant women died and 87% of their babies did not survive. . Among the few surviving children, most were born prematurely.
A notable challenge in the study is the exclusion of pregnant women from vaccine trials. While there are trial vaccines for avian influenza developed in preparation for a pandemic, they are not recommended for pregnant women due to a lack of safety data.
Dr. Purcell emphasized the need to change this approach: “If women enroll in vaccine safety studies, sometimes those women will become pregnant without realizing it, and there is an opportunity to ethically study what happens to those women.” .
Despite the grim findings, Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious disease specialist at the Australian National University, noted the limited sample size and emphasized that most human cases of avian influenza are due to direct contact with birds. free range.
This reduces the overall exposure risk for pregnant women, particularly in developed countries with better health resources. However, it affirmed the study’s conclusion that pregnant women are more susceptible to serious consequences from respiratory infections.
In response to the growing global threat, the Australian government announced a $95 million investment in October to prepare for avian influenza. Australia remains the only continent free of the deadliest bird flu strains, but experts stress the importance of continued surveillance and research to protect high-risk groups, including pregnant women.