An 11-year-old lady in Cambodia has died in hospital after catching hen flu. Her father has examined constructive for the virus accountable, however it’s unclear whether or not he caught the an infection from her or the household’s poultry assortment
Health
24 February 2023
Ducks at a market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 24 February TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP through Getty Images
A woman has died from hen flu in Cambodia after probably catching it from her household’s small flock of chickens and geese. At least certainly one of her shut contacts has additionally examined constructive, however authorities are nonetheless ready on the outcomes of testing her wider circle.
How many individuals have died from hen flu within the newest cluster of instances?
An 11-year-old lady from Cambodia has died from a subtype of the hen flu virus known as H5N1 within the rural Prey Veng province, a area near the capital Phnom Penh. She developed flu-like signs on 16 February and after her situation deteriorated, she was despatched to hospital, the place she died. Out of 12 of her shut contacts who’ve been examined, solely her father has to this point been discovered to be constructive for the virus.
How did she catch it?
It may have been from her household’s small assortment of geese and chickens, as all of the animals at her residence – 22 chickens and three geese – had not too long ago died, in line with BNO News, however the reason for their deaths is unknown. There have additionally been plenty of fatalities amongst wild birds within the space.
Is hen flu now spreading between folks?
Even if extra of the lady’s 12 contacts take a look at constructive, this doesn’t imply the virus has developed to unfold simply between folks. Her father and another instances may have caught the virus immediately from contaminated birds, says Wendy Barclay at Imperial College London. “If she’s had contact with backyard poultry, there’s a chance that friends she played with have also had contact [with the birds],” she says.
Should we count on extra instances?
Since 2021, hen flu has been surging in wild hen populations and spreading to home poultry flocks and infrequently different animals, corresponding to foxes and seals, which eat birds. That raises the chance of the virus crossing over to folks, says James Wood on the University of Cambridge. “We expect there to be some cases of [human] disease with such a widespread infection,” Wood mentioned in a press release to the Science Media Centre within the UK.
How lethal is hen flu in folks?
Over the previous 20 years, there have been about 900 recognized instances of human an infection with varied strains of H5N1, of which about half had been deadly. But the loss of life fee could seem greater than it truly is as a result of there are more likely to be many instances the place folks didn’t develop signs or weren’t examined for the virus, says Barclay. There is now considered about 30 totally different genetic variants of H5N1 viruses circulating in birds, which in all probability differ of their potential to make folks sick.
Has vaccine manufacturing begun?
Mass manufacturing of a hen flu vaccine can’t start as a result of we don’t but know which pressure, if any, may make the soar to begin freely spreading between folks. The effectiveness of flu vaccines hinges on making them from viruses which can be as shut a match as doable to the one that folks ultimately catch.
Manufacturers are about to begin making the standard seasonal vaccines forward of the northern hemisphere’s winter. If they had been to modify to creating H5N1 vaccines prematurely, that will threat not sufficient seasonal flu vaccines being out there later this 12 months. “Seasonal vaccine is very important in saving lives,” says Sylvie Briand on the World Health Organization (WHO). “You need to balance the risks and benefits when you talk about switching vaccines.”
But producers routinely perform preparatory work utilizing “candidate vaccine viruses” and the WHO has requested them to do that utilizing a number of the H5N1 viruses, the organisation introduced this week.
Are there any remedies?
There are a number of antiviral remedies for seasonal flu, corresponding to oseltamivir (Tamiflu), which has been used as a therapy in addition to a preventative medication among the many shut contacts of individuals recognized to have hen flu.
In just a few instances, the H5N1 virus developed resistance to oseltamivir, though this appeared to be linked with the virus additionally changing into much less virulent and fewer transmissible. At a press convention this week, the WHO mentioned it has been in talks with producers of antivirals about how rapidly they might scale up manufacturing.
What occurs if hen flu does begin spreading between folks?
Briand has mentioned that if human-to-human transmission had been found, well being authorities would attempt to stop additional crossover occasions from animals to folks, in addition to aiming to cease the virus’s unfold between folks. This could be “by treating cases, isolating cases so that they don’t further transmit the virus and also identifying contacts”, she mentioned. “We can use antivirals to treat contacts for post-exposure prophylaxis and reduce the likelihood of further human transmission.”
The WHO would additionally attempt to put together neighbouring areas for additional unfold utilizing intense surveillance of viruses, informing communities about the best way to scale back their threat of an infection and serving to healthcare employees keep away from an infection with protecting tools.
More on these matters:
Source: www.newscientist.com