According to the scientist, Russian specialists have learned to prepare a new vaccine every year, and it only takes several months to make it from a new strain, especially if it is a pandemic, and they can make a diagnosis very quickly.
Onischenko did not rule out the possibility of a new pandemic. “I would paraphrase the statement that there will be in the foreseeable future. In either case, there will be a pandemic flu strain,” she added.
Earlier, Russian virologist and researcher at the Gamaleya Epidemiology and Microbiology Research Center Anatoli Altshtein stated that the probability of a possible new pandemic due to bird flu in the near future is not high.
On February 26, the World Health Organization reported that from 2003 to February 25, 2023, 873 human cases of influenza A (H5N1) were detected and 458 deaths from the disease were recorded in 23 countries.
Bird flu is mainly spread in birds, but is sometimes transmitted to humans. It is a respiratory disease, with symptoms similar to those of the common cold. The risk group includes children and the elderly, as well as people with chronic diseases.
jcm/gfa
