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Bird flu continues to be a concern – especially in the USA, where a case was recently recorded in a human. For now, there is no cause for alarm, but the country guarantees that it is prepared for a possible pandemic.
Last week, the US Department of Agriculture announced that they had been found traces of bird fluin about one in five samples of commercial milk, in the USA.
33 herds of dairy cattlein eight North American states, presented cases of H5N1 – a subtype of the bird flu virus.
Quoted by New Scientist, Donald Prater of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that “it is important to emphasize that this does not mean that the samples contain intact and infectious viruses”, as the testing method used detects any genetic material, including that of dead viruses.
The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also reassured the population by saying that, despite the recent cases – even in humans –, the risk of contracting bird flu continues to be low.
However, as the virus spreads among dairy cattle in the US, the country’s health authorities – “just in case” – are preparing for the possibility of a new pandemic.
At this stage and as new data emerges, the stance is one of maximum prevention. Control the spread of the virus is the main focus.
Ensure security of supply of milk is another concern. Although the vast majority of milk sold is pasteurized, the effectiveness of pasteurization against H5N1 has never been evaluated.
Vaccination (if necessary) will come in time
As New Scientist reveals, there are already two vaccines against H5N1 in a good position – with initial tests indicating effectiveness.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) revealed that it already has “hundreds of thousands of vaccines” prepared against H5N1 that, in the event of an emergency, can be quickly distributed.
Furthermore, the entity guarantees that it has contracts with manufacturers and sufficient material to produce more 10 million doses“or more, if necessary”.
Despite admitting that, at this time, vaccination is not a necessary tool, David Boucher of ASPR says that the USA is readyif the scenario suddenly changes: “If we need to pull any of these levers, we are ready to do so”.
