The H5N1 flu virus and I go back a long way.
In 1997, I saw more than one million Chickens were killed in Hong Kong to deal with the first major global outbreak of the disease. Eighteen people became ill from this virus six died, all of whom had close contact with birds. They were the first deaths in humans.
Although officials in Hong Kong and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention While we were pretty sure that H5N1 was (and still is) unlikely to spread from person to person, there were some mysteries about this flu strain that suddenly gained the ability to infect people. Among them: Some workers at Hong Kong’s poultry markets had antibodies to the virus but did not fall ill.
It was off my radar until late 2005, when bird numbers began dying off in biblical fashion in far eastern Turkey, where residents live in close proximity to their animals. When bird flu is detected in an area, the best approach is to immediately kill all pet birds to prevent the disease from spreading. The government was slow to respond and farmers in the area reluctantly killed their birds, which are often their main source of income. More than a dozen people became ill and about a third died, in which three Of jeckey And marifat kosygitHas four children.
During the bitter cold of January, I visited the family in their simple cement house and asked whether the children had any contact with birds. “Of course my children played with our chickens; They are children,” he said.
Soon after, birds started dying from H5N1 in Greece and Nigeria. It was spreading throughout Europe and Africa. Scientists determined where the virus was spreading Wild Birds Landing among domesticated herds, making them difficult to control by hunters.
As the spread of wild chickens remains a threat in Europe, many countries have made it mandatory to keep chickens kept indoors If dead wild birds are found in any area. In 2015, a type of H5N1 virus came to the united statesSparks outbreaks and deaths on Midwest farms – though no human fatalities occurred.
last year this port turned into a seal,
“This has been a 20-year process,” said peter hotezan infectious disease specialist Baylor College of Medicine. “The first red flag was birds falling from the sky. The second was harbor seals. The third is, now, cattle.”
At least cows 51 dairy cattle herds Have tested positive for flu in nine statesHowever, the full extent of the US outbreak is unclear due to the reluctance of farmers and farm workers to cooperate with health officials. One human case has been reported – A dairy worker who was suffering from conjunctivitis.
There are significant differences between the Hong Kong outbreak more than 25 years ago and the current US outbreak. H5N1 is better understood today; Health officials say it should respond to antivirals like Tamiflu in the event of more human cases, and the CDC says the United States can produce and ship 100 million doses A vaccine – already developed – within months.
But experts like Hotez are still concerned. “Surveillance testing has been very fragmented — I don’t think cattle were on anybody’s radar.”
He compares the presence of the virus in herds to a minor earthquake in San Francisco: “You know there’s a possibility of something big happening, but you don’t know whether it’ll be one year or 100.”
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