The 9-year-old is certainly not the first person to be affected by the bird flu virus, but there is an important difference, according to avian flu expert Thijs Kuiken of Erasmus MC. “This variant of bird flu, which we also have in the Netherlands, has already been diagnosed in people in the United States and Great Britain. But these people became very slightly ill or not at all ill,” he explains.
The case in Ecuador is the first in which a human has contracted pneumonia from bird flu. Kuik: “We have suspected for some time that this bird flu that is spreading around the world can make people sick, and now there is evidence for this.”
The Ministry of Health in Ecuador believes that the girl contracted the virus through direct, unprotected contact with infected chickens. The people she has been in contact with are in isolation. There are no indications that they are infected and that the virus can therefore be transmitted from person to person.
Nevertheless, human-to-human transmission is not unthinkable, says Kuiken. “If people become infected, variants can arise.” Does this mean a new pandemic is lurking? “The chance is small, but it cannot be ruled out.”
Vaccinate
In the Netherlands, bird flu is currently reasonably under control. “No poultry farms have been infected in recent weeks. The virus is still circulating to a lesser extent among wild birds. Infected mammals are also sometimes found. These are mainly foxes, but also the polecat, badger and otter.”
According to Professor Kuiken, the vaccination of poultry is an important step in the fight against the bird flu virus. This is already happening on a large scale in Asia and recently also in Mexico, but it is expected to take another one or two years before this is achieved in the Netherlands and Europe. “A lot of research is still being done because they want to know more about the characteristics of the vaccine. Another problem is that many Dutch and European poultry farmers produce for export and some countries refuse to import vaccinated poultry.”
