By Cristina Plesoianu. Published Friday, February 10, 2023, 1:06 p.m. Updated Friday, February 10, 2023 at 1:07 p.m.
An alarm signal about the risk of transmission of bird flu to humans was sent by the president of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The official draws attention to the possibility of an increase in the risk of transmission to the human species, with the recent spillover of bird flu in mammals.
- The risk of bird flu transmission to humans may increase
- The announcement made by the WHO director
The President of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has sent an alarm signal regarding the risk of transmission of bird flu to humans. There has recently been significant spread of the virus in mammals, and the official said people should not assume the risk of transmission to humans will remain low.
President of the World Health Organization, alarm signal about the transmission of bird flu to humans
On Wednesday, Ghebreyesus said close monitoring of bird flu cases in minks, otters, foxes and sea lions that have emerged in recent weeks is necessary.
“For now, the WHO assesses that the risk to humans is low. But we cannot assume that this will continue to be the case and we must prepare for any change in the status quo.”the WHO president sent.
The leader of the organization also mentioned the fact that the H5N1 virus has not registered a spread in humans since 1996, but there have been “rare and unsupported” cases of human-to-human transmission, reports politico.eu.
An outbreak of the virus was detected at a mink farm in Spain in October. The employees were tested and the results were negative.
Worldwide, four people were officially diagnosed with bird flu last year, according to WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier.
Bird flu poses a threat to humans because of its potential to cause a new pandemic, which is why close case surveillance remains critically important.
