The spread of bird flu to more species and its increasing geographical range has increased the risk of human infection with the virus, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Thursday.
Monique Eloit’s comments come after the U.S. government reported cases of the disease in dairy cows in several states and in a person in Texas, which it said would only be of major concern if transmission occurred between cows would be, something US authorities are still investigating.
Bird flu, also known colloquially as bird flu, has led to the killing of hundreds of millions of poultry worldwide in recent years, with the virus being transmitted primarily by migratory wild birds.
Although the number of outbreaks has been smaller this season, the virus has spread to new regions, including South America and Antarctica, and affected larger numbers of animals, decimating colonies of rare species.
Foxes were the mammal species most affected by bird flu, but the virus also infected dozens of other species, including cats, tigers, seals, dolphins and bears.
“In the last few months we have seen a whole range of diverse and varied mammals. It is worrying to see this expansion to other species,” the head of the Paris-based organization said in an interview with Reuters.
“Ultimately, we are dealing with more and more species and animals that are contaminated, so inevitably a higher viral load and the risk of human contamination,” she said.
Some outbreaks of bird flu have resulted in serious or fatal infections in people who have close contact with wild birds or poultry. However, no sustained human-to-human transmission has been observed to date. For most people who do not have contact with infected animals, the risk of contracting the disease is very low, scientists say.
Animal and human flu viruses tend to mutate, raising concerns that flu viruses are morphing into ones that can be transmitted between mammals, including humans.
The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) warned on Wednesday of a large-scale bird flu pandemic if the virus becomes transmitted from person to person, as people have no immunity to the virus.
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by David Evans)
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