A UK expert has warned that work should begin to create a vaccine against bird flu in the event that the virus starts to spread among humans.
Professor Ian Brown, head of virology at the Animal and Plant Health Agency, stated that the rapidly evolving virus, which was previously confined to poultry and migratory birds, is now increasingly spreading from birds into mammal species, increasing the threat to humans. He emphasized the need to start the vaccine preparation process now, as pandemic preparation takes time, pointing out that there are currently no H5 vaccines ready for human vaccination.
His call for action echoes a similar warning from the World Health Organization (WHO), who stated that while the current risk to humans is low, “we cannot assume that will remain the case and we must prepare for any change in the status quo”.
Professor Martin Beer, head of the Institute for Diagnostic Virology at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute in Germany, also warned that the virus is changing faster than it can be characterized, and that there has been a step-change in the spread of infection.
Prof. Brown stated that while there is currently no evidence of the virus spreading between mammals, it is crucial to carefully monitor its effect on new mutations. He warned that sitting idle was not an option and that the groundwork for vaccines should start now, but that the vaccines could only be finalized when a specific viral strain was known to be spreading in humans.
According to the WHO, 868 people have been infected with H5N1 over the past two decades, with 457 deaths, but there has so far been no documented human-to-human transmission.
