Avian flu in Hawaii: What are the risks?

« Strict compliance with biosecurity rules by passengers arriving in French Polynesia is essential to protect the territory from this disease which would wipe out the poultry industry and which can also, in rare cases, be transmitted to humans. “. The Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and the Environment published a press release this Thursday, November 21 following the detection of outbreaks of avian flu in Hawaii. The ministry assures that “ controls on the introduction and importation of bird products and by-products from this state are strengthened ».

In birds, avian flu can remain mild or become a rapidly fatal disease that can cause serious epidemics. Although the risks of infection in humans are low, health authorities take outbreaks of avian flu very seriously and implement very strict health protocols.

In 2012, for example, 25 million ducks were slaughtered in the South-West of France to prevent the spread of the epidemic. The country chose to cull these ducks for two main reasons. France needed to regain its status as a country free of avian flu as quickly as possible in order to be able to export again because other countries had blocked imports for fear of being infected in turn.

Also, avian flu has a great capacity to mutate over time, but also to exchange its genes with influenza viruses belonging to other species, including humans. Preventing humans from becoming infected is the other reason why health authorities are implementing such strict health protocols. Yet between 2003 and 2024, the WHO said it recorded a total of just 889 human cases of bird flu in 23 countries. But there were 463 deaths, bringing the case fatality rate to 52%. For comparison, the lethality rate for Covid-19 was less than 0.1%.

Yesterday, a case of bird flu in a child was detected in the United States. But American health authorities believe that the risk posed by this mutation of the virus for public health is low. Since 2003, numerous outbreaks have been detected in exporting countries in French Polynesia, but no cases of avian flu have been recorded in fenua.