China has reported 21 human infections in 2021 to the WHO.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, By Rizky Suryarandika, Wahyu Suryana
BEIJING — The spike in the number of people in China infected with bird flu this year has added to concerns. Experts say the type of virus circulating appears to have changed and may be more contagious to humans.
China has reported 21 human infections with avian influenza subtype H5N6 in 2021 to the World Health Organization (WHO). In fact, last year there were only five reports. Although the number is far lower than the hundreds of people infected with H7N9 in 2017, the infection has grown so serious that many people are critically ill, and at least six people have died.
“The increase in human (contagion) cases in China this year is worrying. This is a virus that causes high mortality,” said Thijs Kuiken, professor of comparative pathology at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam. Daily Star at the end of last October.
WHO found most bird flu case experienced by humans due to contact with birds. WHO confirmed that there were no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission. The WHO highlighted the increase in cases in a statement on October 4.
“Further research is urgently needed to understand the risks and increase in transmission to humans,” the WHO report wrote.
Since then, a 60-year-old woman in Hunan province was hospitalized in critical condition with H5N6 influenza on October 13, according to a Hong Kong government statement. Meanwhile cases of H5N6 in humans have been reported. However, no outbreaks of H5N6 have been reported in poultry in China since February 2020.
China is the world’s largest poultry producer and the top duck producer, which could be a reservoir for the flu virus. The Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) could not be reached for comment on the increase in human cases of H5N6.
However, a study published on its website last month said there was an increase in the genetic diversity and geographic distribution of H5N6. This condition poses a serious threat to the poultry industry and human health.
Avian flu viruses are constantly circulating in domestic and wild birds, but rarely infect humans. However, the evolution of the virus which increases with the growth of the poultry population is a major concern. Because they can turn into a virus that spreads easily between humans and causes a pandemic.
The largest number of H5N6 infections occurred in the southwestern province of Sichuan, although cases have also been reported in neighboring Chongqing and Guangxi, as well as the provinces of Guangdong, Anhui and Hunan. At least 10 cases were caused by a virus genetically very similar to the H5N8 virus that ravaged poultry farms across Europe last winter and also killed wild birds in China. So that suggests the latest H5N6 infection in China may be a new variant.
“It could be that this variant is a bit more infectious (to humans), or maybe there’s more of this virus in poultry at the moment and that’s why more people are getting infected,” Kuiken said.
So, is it possible for bird flu to end up and infect many humans like Covid-19?
Professor of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Prof. Warsito, assessed that the chance of bird flu becoming a source of new outbreaks such as Covid-19 is very small. This is because the bird flu virus cannot be transmitted directly from birds to humans, but must be through intermediary animals. In addition, Warsito argued, the virus from Avian Influenza cannot be transmitted from human to human.
“Avian Influenza (bird flu) cannot be transmitted directly from birds to humans. There must be intermediate animals, especially pigs. This virus also cannot be transmitted from humans to humans,” Wasito said, Friday (11/5).
With this level of human-to-human transmission, he said, bird flu does not pose a serious threat. Even so, the level of virulence of this virus in poultry varies, depending on the level of variant.
Warsito emphasized that the virulence of bird flu can vary depending on its antigenicity and it is easy to die from heat. To suppress the spread so as not to infect humans, can suppress infected birds or isolate those who are exposed.
Problem can cause human death, indeed most likely can. However, it is necessary to carry out further examination and research to determine the new biotype of bird flu that is formed due to the genetic shift of the virus.
So, it can cause death, it is determined the result of a new biotype of bird flu that is formed due to nature factors genetic shift or genetic reassortment bird flu. From Warsito’s research, bird flu can be transmitted from the air, but dies when exposed to heat.
Even though this is not a new outbreak, he warned, the government still needs to provide a bird flu detection tool for humans as mitigation. So far, detection of bird flu in poultry uses detection through PCR, all of which are imported. “In my research, all kit imports,” said Warsito.
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