Bird flu could mutate and become more transmissible to humans, scientists warned, as the US reported its first serious case that left one woman hospitalized.
So far, 65 confirmed cases of H5N1 infection in humans have been reported in 2024, following a widespread outbreak on bird and livestock farms in the United States.
A teenager in British Columbia, Canada, has also reportedly suffered severe symptoms and is being treated in hospital.
Experts believe this figure could be higher, with cases among dairy and poultry workers going undetected.
In the latest case, a Louisiana woman developed severe respiratory symptoms and was in “critical condition” after coming into contact with sick and dead birds. The Telegraph reports.
It is understood she is over 65 and had underlying health conditions, officials said earlier this month.
An analysis posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on their website found that a small percentage of the virus detected in the patient’s throat showed genetic changes that could lead to “increased virus binding ‘ to specific ‘cell receptors found in the upper part of the body. human respiratory tract.’
These changes have not been found in birds, including the backyard poultry flock that was thought to have initially infected the Louisiana patient.
Bird flu could mutate and become more transmissible to humans, scientists warn. Pictured: Culling has begun at infected sites in Britain
So far, 65 confirmed cases of H5N1 infection in humans have been reported in 2024, following a widespread outbreak on bird and livestock farms in the United States
Britain has also confirmed an outbreak of the virus, with 14 locations affected since November
The CDC stated that the mutations were “likely generated by replication of this virus in the patient with advanced disease,” adding that no transmission of the mutated virus to other people has been identified.
While the findings are ‘concerning’, the risk to the general public remains the same and low.
The specific mutation “is one step needed to create a more efficiently transmissible virus,” says Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. “But I would like to point out that this is not the only step.”
However, Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Minnesota, warned that bird flu could eventually become a major pandemic similar to the coronavirus.
“There will be more flu pandemics and they could be much worse than we saw with Covid,” he told the Associated Press. “We know the pandemic clock is ticking. We just don’t know what time it is.’
Bird flu is now widespread in several states in the US.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on December 18 after the virus was found in at least 875 dairy herds in 16 states.
The virus has also been found in Great Britain.
Culls of infected birds have begun in Britain as experts try to stop the spread of the virus
Turkish farms were hit by an outbreak of bird flu just before Christmas.
Bird flu has reportedly been found in fourteen locations in Britain since November.
As a result, tens of thousands of turkeys have been culled in an attempt to control the outbreak Telegraph understands.
Eight of the contaminated sites are in Norfolk, including five turkey farms, one duck farm, one chicken farm and a non-commercial site housing emus and aviary birds.
It is believed the infected birds were humanely culled and the owners were compensated.