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Bird flu at Europe's borders

A health worker removes a goose after gassing it in the village of Ceamurlia de Jos, Romania, on Wednesday. — PHOTO: AP

PARIS: The detection of H5N1 bird flu among poultry in Turkey means that the most-feared strain of avian influenza is now at Europe's borders after erupting in Asia and Siberia. The H5N1 virus is considered the most probable strain to mutate into a feared apocalyptic pathogen against which no one would have any immunity. Around 60 persons have already died in Asia since 2003 by picking up the H5N1 virus from diseased poultry. The virus is lethal but in its present state is not very infectious — in other words, a person would need to be exposed to lots of the virus, from infected birds living in proximity or from their faeces, in order to fall sick. Nor is it easily transmissible. So far as is known, it is hard for the virus to spread from human to human. The worry is that H5N1 could pick up genes from conventional flu viruses that would make it both lethal and highly infectious, and could spread swiftly around the world in an era of cross-border jet travel. This gene shuffling could be done from contact with humans who are already infected with conventional flu or through a vector such as a pig, which can harbour both animal and human strains of the influenza virus. Research published last week suggested that the so-called Spanish flu virus that killed tens of millions of people after World War I leapt to humans from birds. Avian influenza was first identified in Italy more than 100 years ago. H5N1 is only a sub-type of the H5 group of flu viruses, which itself is one of three groups (H5, H7 and H9) that affect birds. So far, all the worst outbreaks of bird flu have been caused by H5 and H7 subtypes, according to the World Health Organisation. Migratory waterfowl, especially wild ducks, are the natural reservoir for the 15 subtypes of avian flu viruses. Natural selection means that these wild creatures are also the most resistant to the virus, but domesticated farm fowl such as chickens and turkeys are highly susceptible to them. To combat the spread of the virus, authorities are relying on time-honoured quarantine-and-control measures and close surveillance by veterinary and health authorities. That means flocks that were potentially exposed to the virus are destroyed, farms are quarantined, and machinery, vehicles and clothing are disinfected. ``In the absence of prompt control measures backed by good surveillance, epidemics can last for years,'' says the WHO. Another line of action is to stockpile the antiviral drug Tamiflu, in the event of any outbreak of a mutated H5N1 virus, and to set plans for swift manufacture and distribution of a vaccine after the foe is identified. The anti-viral drug can alleviate some symptoms and slow down the spread of the flu, but does not constitute a cure. — AFP

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