A human case of avian flu has been detected in England — after warnings the virus could be mutating to become more transmissible to humans.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed a case of influenza A(H5N1) in a person in the West Midlands region.
Bird-to-human transmission of avian influenza is rare and has previously occurred a small number of times in the UK.
The person acquired the infection on a farm, where they had close and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds.
The risk to the wider public continues to be very low, the agency stated. Human-to-human transmission of avian influenza has only been documented very rarely and never in Europe or the UK.
In America, where there has been a sustained nationwide outbreak in poultry and cattle, there have been more than 60 human cases in recent months.
An analysis in a December posted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on its website found signs the virus detected in one patient’s throat had genetic changes that may lead to ‘increased virus binding’ to specific ‘cell receptors found in the upper respiratory tract of humans.’
These changes have not been found in birds, including in the backyard poultry flock thought to have infected the Louisiana patient initially.
A human case of avian flu has been detected in England — after warnings the virus could be mutating to become more transmissible to humans
The UK has also recently seen multiple avian influenza outbreaks in birds across the country, with the UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer issuing alerts to bird owners. More to come.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
