Magali contracted the H1N1 flu several years ago. Today she hears about the H5N1 flu, the bird flu. What is the difference between these viruses? Should the Belgian population fear infections in humans as is the case in the United States? Is it dangerous?
“I had high fevers and severe fatigue for three weeks. At times, I didn’t remember what I was experiencing during the day“, says Magali, who contracted the H1N1 flu in 2009. If she does not want to be alarmist, our interlocutor wonders if we are about to experience the same thing with avian flu.
We asked infectious disease specialist Nicolas Dauby from CHU St Pierre about this. He states straight away that he “until now, there has never been a case of human avian flu in Belgium“.
He distinguishes the two viruses: “H1N1 emerged in the human population in 2009. It was called at the time the Mexican flu, which is a virus of animal origin. It is now adapted to humans and will cause seasonal flu every year. When we talk about H5N1 (avian flu), it is a virus whose reservoir is animal, in this case populations of wild birds. It now has the capacity to infect certain mammals, notably cattle. We are currently observing in the United States an overflow among human beings in close contact with these animal populations.”
Concretely, “what the majority of experts fear today“is that this animal virus acquires mutations”that can facilitate infection in humans“. This is what happened with the H1N1 virus at the time. At the time of writing, some humans have contracted the virus, but there is no knowledge of transmission between men.
Is it dangerous?
According to epidemiologist Marius Gilbert, “there are things that we do not yet understand about the dangerousness of this virus“He explains that the affected breeders in the United States have mainly developed “conjunctivitis“: “So far, infections have always been mild and this is one of the big questions. Why are they when we know that it is a virus that is quite dangerous for certain mammals?”
Certain initiatives already taken in terms of vaccine development
He continues: “The fear is always that it is a virus that mutates and acquires the ability to transmit itself from person to person with a respiratory infection which is, this time, more severe.“
According to a recent study by biologists from the American institute Scippsa single mutation could make this virus threatening to humans.
“A serious candidate”
Should we be worried? “We must always monitor these potentially pandemic virus candidates. This one is a serious candidate because there are a whole series of characteristics that have made it become more and more similar to mammals in recent years.“, replies Marius Gilbert.
The epidemiologist also believes that it is necessary “have much more active surveillance of animal and human populations” than what is being done now.
If, despite everything, avian flu were to be transmitted between humans, “some initiatives have already been taken in terms of vaccine development“, adds Marius Gilbert. “Compared to Covid, we are in a very different situation“. “But we’re not there yet“, concludes the specialist who believes that there is no question of alarming the Belgian population at this moment.
Avian flu Mexican flu H1N1 flu H5N1 flu epidemic health disease
