PARIS: The European Union’s Food Safety Agency (EFSA) on Wednesday warned of a large-scale bird flu pandemic if the disease becomes communicable among humans as they lack immunity against the virus.
The development comes a day after Texas said that the H5N1 type of avian influenza, known as bird flu, had been found in a person who had contact with dairy cows, believed to be affected by the deadly virus.
The spread of bird flu is alarming for governments across the world and the poultry industry because of the devastation it can cause to flocks and human population.
The number of bird flu outbreaks has been low in the world but it spreads geographically, including to Antarctica, raising the risk of it becoming a bigger threat to humans.
Currently, there has been no recorded human-to-human transmission of the bird flu and transmission from animals infected by virus to humans is rare.
EFSA warned, that as this virus continues to evolve globally and with the migration of wild birds, it can be extremely damagers for the human population.
The EU health agency in a report said if avian A(H5N1) influenza viruses achieve the ability to infect humans, large‐scale transmission could take place because of the lack of immunity against H5 viruses in humans.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in its latest report said about 887 cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza, were recorded between January 2003 and February 2024 internationally.
The majority of cases in human were found in people with exposure to sick or dead poultry, markets or a contaminated atmosphere.
EFSA stressed the need to enhance surveillance for humans and animals against the virus and implementing precautionary measures such as vaccination.
