According to experts, the H5N1 virus spreads rapidly among wild birds, especially migratory birds, which carry the virus to different places and also infect mammals.
Bird flu, health.Photo: EFE
Avian influenza, also known as H5N1, It spread throughout the world, causing mass deaths not only of birds but also of mammals. According to experts, the virus is very aggressive and its adaptability allows it to resist at any time of the year.
According to the United Nations (UN) Scientific Working Group on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds, H5N1 and H5N8 strainshighly contagious, possibly They originated on poultry farms in East Asia.
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Timm Harder, Professor, Friedrich-Loeffer-Institut (FLI) Greifswald, Director of the National Reference Laboratory Avian Influenza He explained that when the flu was discovered in the past, all animals that might be carrying the virus were killed to eliminate it. However, currently, Wild birds live on farms with infected birds, so the virus can be spread to wild birds and even to migratory birds.
According to experts, the avian influenza virus Appears in autumn and winter With the arrival of migratory birds from Northeast Asia, they disappear when they return to their places of origin in the spring.However, they have adapted to wild bird populations that live in the water, so The virus began to spread throughout the year.
Avian influenza reported in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.Photo: EFE
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Mammals, other victims of avian influenza
Although bird flu spreads among birds, it has also spread to mammals such as seals, otters and sea lions, where it has been found dead. Pacific Coast of Chile and Peru.This raised suspicion among researchers This influenza is spread among mammals, although there is no clear evidence yet.
The most worrying thing about this issue is that If the virus does adapt, this would pose a serious threat to humans. Currently, human cases of infection with the virus are few and rare, and “that will change soon,” Harder said.
Regarding this situation, World Health Organization (WHO) develops multiple vaccine candidates to combat H5N1 This way, if bird flu becomes endemic in humans in the future, vaccine production can begin immediately.