Professor Pritt said “even just a single mutation” may allow bird flu to pass “efficiently between people” (stock) (Image: Getty Images)
A recent bird flu death has sparked fears that a “brand-new virus” could potentially mutate under the right conditions and lead to a “global pandemic”.
The alarm was raised last week when the Louisiana Department of Health confirmed the first US death linked to . A 65-year-old individual contracted the avian influenza strain and was hospitalised.
Whilst the patient had pre-existing health conditions, investigations found no further cases or signs of human-to-human transmission, yet other human infections have been recently documented.
In November 2024, reported a hospitalisation of a teenager with the same D1.1 genotype identified in the Louisiana case, and Missouri also noted a bird flu incident last September.
This anxiety is exacerbated by instances of another genotype, B3.13, reportedly affecting dairy cows in America, leading to California officials declaring a state of emergency, reports .
Read more…
Professor Pritt said pigs can be infected with both human and bird influenza strains (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Mayo Clinic’s Professor Bobbi Pritt spotlighted the dire possibilities of the virus mutating to become easily transmissible among humans, stating: “If the virus were to mutate and gain the ability to efficiently spread from person to person, then this could result in a large outbreak, or even a global pandemic.”
The US government is keeping a close eye on the situation, swiftly testing and quarantining infected animals, discarding milk from any infected dairy cows, and developing a for due to these concerns.
However, if bird flu continues to circulate in large numbers of animals and keeps transmitting to humans, the conditions necessary for human-to-human transmission may become unavoidable. Professor Pritt confessed her unease about the variety of animals being infected.
She warned: “The continued circulation of bird flu in a large number of animals and continued transmission to humans increases the likelihood that mutations may occur that make the virus more adapted to humans.”
Don’t miss… [REPORT] [REVEAL]
Professor Pritt admitted that she felt “nervous” about the number of different types of animals being infected (stock) (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“This is because RNA viruses such as influenza virus can make frequent mistakes as they replicate, resulting in mutations in the RNA sequences. The greater the number of infected animals and people, the larger the number of replicating viruses, and the greater the likelihood that a mutation could occur.”
Professor Pritt pointed out recent studies suggesting that “even just a single mutation” might enable flu to spread “efficiently between people”. The virus found in the Canadian teenager showed mutations that made it “more adapted” to infecting humans.
Professor Pritt has warned of the notable spike in animal infections, especially given the growing diversity of species affected. She confirmed: “Yes, what sets this current outbreak apart from past outbreaks of avian influenza is the high number of infected animals and the large number of different types of animals being infected.”
She further highlighted the serious potential risk presented by pigs as: “Pigs, in particular, present a large potential risk as they can be infected with both human and bird influenza strains, and this may allow the viruses to mix and swap genes if they infect the same cell at the same time. This mixing of gene segments could potentially produce a brand-new virus capable of infecting humans.”
Most people infected by the B3.13 genotype after exposure to dairy cows experienced mild symptoms such as conjunctivitis and coughing, while others suffered more seriously with pneumonia, according to Professor Pritt.
Concerns have been raised about D1.1, a strain seen in wild birds, for its potential to cause severe disease, yet Professor Pritt indicated that it’s “difficult to draw any conclusions at this time”.
The NHS says various bird flu strains have caused concern over the years such as H5N1, H7N9, H5N6, and H5N8; notably, H5N8 was confirmed to have infected humans in in February 2021.
The NHS says a number of different bird flu strains have caused concern over the years (stock) (Image: Getty Images)
Bird flu strains H5N8 and H5N1 have been detected in UK birds, including poultry and captive and wild species. A different strain, H5N6, has also been found in our wild bird population, but it’s not the same as the one that caused human infections in China.
Symptoms of bird flu can include a high temperature, feeling hot or shivery, body aches, headaches, coughing or shortness of breath.
Other symptoms may include nausea, abdominal and chest pain, diarrhoea, conjunctivitis and bleeding from your nose or gums.
For more information on bird flu, visit the NHS website .