Ex CDC director predicts bird flu pandemic: What to know
( NewsNation ) — Is a bird flu pandemic imminent? Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield seems to think so, he says it’s just a matter of when that will be.
By Devan Markham, Safia Samee Ali
Jun 17, 2024 06:55 PM
In the past two years, the bird influenza has been blamed for death of millions of domestic and wild birds around the world. But, it appears to have had no impact on people.
Redfield said to the NewsNation’s Brian Entin on Friday that Redfield believes that “bird flu will enter humans” and could result in “significant mortality.”
He also spoke about the increasing concern over bird flu since it has already been found in numerous cattle across the United States as well as it was reported that the World Health Organization identified the first human fatality in Mexico.
“I really do think it’s very likely that we will, at some time, it’s not a question of if, it’s more of a question of when we will have a bird flu pandemic,” Redfield declared.
Redfield also said that bird flu is a “significant mortality” when it is in contact with humans as when compared to COVID-19. Redfield estimates that the death rate to be “probably somewhere between 25 and 50% mortality.” NewsNation reported that the mortality of COVID-19 is 0.6 percent.
The bird-flu virus is what it sounds like? And how do you spread it?
Avian influenza, often referred to as bird flu is an illness caused by a particular type of influenza virus which is typically spreads to animals and birds according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The virus is typically spread by birds, but it is also able to be transmitted to humans when they are in contact with an animal’s body fluids “like spit, respiratory droplets or feces,” the medical center explained.
Farm geese stroll across an open road in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the morning of Feb. 12 2024. Cambodia has reported the discovery of a new case of bird flu and which is the sister of a 9-year old who was killed by the virus earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
It is also possible to transmitted if humans breathe through tiny dust particles in animals’ habitats, or gets it in the nose, eyes or their mouths after touching the body fluids of animals. The people who work with animals, poultry, and waterfowl are at risk of contracting the virus.
The virus is “extremely rare” for the virus to be transmitted between humans According reports from researchers at the Cleveland Clinic.
What must happen to cause it to become a reality for people?
Redfield claimed he has a clear idea of what’s needed to allow the virus that causes bird flu progress enough to the point it can infect humans, because he’s conducted laboratory research on the virus.
Researchers have discovered 5 amino acids need to alter the key receptor of the bird flu in order to increase the likelihood of binding to human receptors “and then be able to go human-to-human” like COVID-19 was able to do, Redfield said.
FILE – A line of Holstein dairy cows feeds through a fence at a dairy farm in Idaho on March 11, 2009. As of April 11, 2024, a strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, that has killed millions of wild birds in recent years has been found in at least 24 dairy cow herds in eight U.S. states: Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Idaho, Michigan and North Carolina and South Dakota. (AP Photo/Charlie Litchfield, File)
“Once the virus gains the ability to attach to the human receptor and then go human to human, that’s when you’re going to have the pandemic,” said the doctor declared. “And as I said, I think it’s just a matter of time.”
Redfield said he doesn’t know the length of time it takes to allow the amino acids five to alter, but as it’s been detected in cattle herds all over the country He is worried.
Researchers don’t yet know what caused it is that the bird flu spread to cattle however, the most popular theory is that it’s to do with milking equipment which could carry the virus, Jenna Guthmiller, an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology in the University of Colorado School of Medicine reported in the journal of the university.
She stated that high levels the virus have been detected in cows’ udders. It also appears to be limited to dairy cows. This increases the possibility of this.
“Influenza A has not been observed in such a way in cows prior to this. There are a few cows that have been suffering from the virus, but they’re not the natural hosts for influenza A virus, so this really is shocking for the experts in the field,” she added.
More than 40 herds of cattle across the nation have been confirmed to be infected with the virus. The CDC is monitoring wastewater treatment facilities to determine the location of the virus, however, the agency stated that the general public’s present chance of contracting the virus is minimal.
What are the effects of bird flu on humans? Should I be concerned?
Three verified human bird flu cases in the past year: One of them was in Texas and two cases in Michigan.
Three farm workers were exposed directly to dairy cows believed to have been infected by bird flu.
Jessen Swider, certified veterinary technician and licensed rehabilitator, releases a turkey vulture back into the wild after overcoming the avian flu at the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massachusetts on May 16, 2023. Beginning in January 2019, the Cape Wildlife Center became a program of New England Wildlife Centers. The 5-acre facility located in Barnstable, Massachusetts, serves as the Cape Cod branch of the organization. The local community is provided with a free veterinary wildlife care model and care-based education centers. (Photo by Lauren Owens Lambert / AFP) (Photo by LAUREN OWENS LAMBERT/AFP via Getty Images)
The first two patients had mild symptoms, with eye inflammation being the most prominent, state officials said.
The latest case, announced on the previous Friday, in Michigan The case had a variety of symptoms such as upper respiratory issues and cough, as well as sore throat as well as congestion according to CDC.
Dr. Nirav Shah, chief deputy director of the CDC in a press briefing that there’s no evidence yet there’s any evidence that this virus has spread from one person to person, though the risk increases when respiratory symptoms are present.
“Simply put, someone who’s coughing may be more likely to transmit the virus than someone who has an eye infection like conjunctivitis,” the doctor said.
The CDC is following 350 individuals who were exposed to dairy cows with infected maladies for symptoms resembling flu. Three hundred nine people have been examined for the virus, according to agency statistics.
The agency claims that the possibility of contracting this virus among the general population is very low because these cases are very rare for humans.
“Right right now the H5N1 bird influenza situation is primarily a issue for animal health. However the CDC is monitoring the situation with keen interest and is taking regular preparation and prevention precautions in the event that the virus evolves to create an increased risk to human health,” the CDC said.
What are the signs of the bird flu among humans?
Common signs and symptoms are nausea, diarrhea vomiting or seizures according to the agency.
Cambridge, MA – May 14: Jon Arizti Sanz, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow working in the lab. The Broad institute, Sabeti Lab is testing purchased milk at area grocery stores for the presence of bird flu. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The vaccine for bird flu is produced with eggs and has sparked concern among certain medical researchers due to the possibility that wild birds might transmit the virus to chickenhouses that are used in the production of vaccine.
In order to make the raw material for the influenza vaccine the virus is created in fertilized eggs that contain millions of fertilized eggs. Sometimes, it isn’t able to grow as well or alters to the point that the vaccine triggers antibodies that do not neutralize the virus and the natural virus changes in such a way that the vaccine can’t function against it.
A new mRNA-based vaccine developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine could assist in the fight against the spread of H5N1 virus. H5N1 virus in cattle and birds. It could as well, protect humans from infection.
Contrary to other vaccines for influenza, mRNA vaccines do NOT require eggs to develop.
Associated Press and NewsNation’s Cassie Buchman contributed to this story.
