HASn the United States, the contamination of several dairy cow farms by avian flu is causing concern. Especially since, until then, cattle were considered not very sensitive to this virus which generally spread among wild birds and in poultry farms. In early April, a person in Texas tested positive for the H5N1 virus after herds were infected. The fear now is that the virus will adapt to become capable of transmitting from human to human.
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What is the situation in the United States?
The H1N5 virus, known since 1996, has interfered in recent weeks in dairy cow herds on 39 farms spread across nine American states, according to information from the Figaro. “The first contamination is probably linked to the fact that, in the United States, certain breeders feed their cows with litter used for birds,” notes virologist Bruno Lima, speaking to the daily.
READ ALSO American cows contaminated by avian flu: should we be worried? If, for the moment, no cattle have succumbed to the disease, the symptoms are those of conjunctivitis, to which is added a drastic reduction in milk production. These effects generally wear off after two weeks.
Is there a risk to humans?
On April 24, traces of the H5N1 virus were detected in pasteurized cow’s milk, according to the United States Medicines Agency (FDA). Avian flu had already been observed in raw milk, the consumption of which has been discouraged for many years by health authorities. However, according to the FDA, pasteurization “is intended” to have the effect of “eliminating pathogens to a level that does not pose a health risk to consumers.” The risk to the public thus remains “minimal”, assures the agency.
However, in early April, a person tested positive for avian flu in Texas, after a herd of cattle was infected. The farm worker suffered from red eyes – the symptom of acute conjunctivitis, as in cows.
Why is the WHO worried?
The World Health Organization expressed its concern on Thursday April 18, sharing its “great concern” about the spread of the H5N1 strain of avian flu to new species. The WHO’s fear is that the virus will adapt to become capable of transmitting from human to human.
Avian flu has in fact demonstrated “an extraordinarily high mortality rate” among people contaminated by contact with infected animals. Between 2003 and 1er April 2024, the WHO said it had recorded a total of 889 human cases of avian flu in 23 countries through contamination with birds, including 463 deaths, bringing the case fatality rate to 52%.
However, according to the World Health Organization, the risk of infection remains “low for the general population” and “low to moderate for people exposed professionally”.
