The first human case of H5N5 avian flu appears to be an isolated case and is unlikely to spark wider transmission, Taiwanese experts said this week, after the US earlier this month reported a person died from the flu strain.
National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) Graduate Institute of Microbiology and Public Health professor Chao Day-yu (趙黛瑜) said the infection was likely the result of a spillover pathway from wild birds to poultry and finally to humans.
Such a single, sporadic event has a low probability of escalating into a pandemic, she added.
Photo: CNA
US health authorities on Friday last week confirmed that a person had died of the H5N5 virus — a strain not previously known to infect humans.
Historically, only a few avian influenza subtypes have caused significant human infections, such as H5N1, which triggered an outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997, and H7N9, which has been confined to China, Chao said.
Other subtypes of the virus have occasionally been detected in people, but have shown no signs of human-to-human transmission, she added.
However, avian influenza viruses are increasingly spilling over into a wider range of animal hosts, including carnivorous and omnivorous wildlife, and even marine animals, Chao said, adding that it is a trend that warrants heightened vigilance and preventive action.
NCHU distinguished professor Chang Poa-chun (張伯俊) said seasonal human influenza viruses do not simply transform into avian influenza strains if passed on to birds.
Such a transformation would require long-term, multistep evolutionary processes, Chang added.
Avian influenza viruses fall under the category of influenza A, a designation that also includes other animal-originated influenza A viruses circulating in poultry and livestock such as cattle and pigs.
Any human infection with these non-seasonal strains is reported as a novel influenza A case, which is classified in Taiwan as a Category 5 notifiable infectious disease.
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