A The World Health Organization (WHO) warned, this Wednesday, of the importance of creating global networks to contain the H5N1 virus, which causes avian flu, and which has been raising alarms.
According to epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove, although the bird surveillance network is already very developed, “What we really need is strong surveillance of different animal species.”
According to what the person responsible for epidemic prevention at the WHO said, cited by the France-Presse agency (AFP), surveillance should be extended to milk and dairy products to ensure that “people are protected”.
The person responsible explained in Geneva, Switzerland, that pasteurization, which consists of heating the milk to kill microbes, is very important. Although there is no evidence of transmission of this flu between humans, experts fear that mutations could cause problems.
“Every opportunity that this virus has to continue to circulate, to continue mixing with animal species, has the potential to cause an epidemic and an outbreak and to become a virus with endemic potential”added Maria Van Kerkhove.
From 2023 until the beginning of this month, the WHO said it recorded 463 deaths related to the virus in question, in 23 countries.
The recent detection of outbreaks of avian influenza in cattle and goats in the United States, where the first cow-to-human transmission was identified, has increased the concern of the medical community regarding possible mutations of the virus, which, according to the WHO, has epidemic potential. and pandemic.
Last week, the UN agency recommended the consumption of pasteurized milk after the discovery of strong concentrations of the H5N1 virus in the milk of cows in the United States.
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