CDC Machine translated from Spanish
As H5 Bird Flu Spreads South in the Americas, it Poses a Threat to Animal and Human Health
March 14, 2023 –With avian influenza A H5 outbreaks in wild birds and poultry spreading to Latin America and the Caribbean, public and animal experts are gathering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this week to talk about improving the region’s capacity to detect and respond to these outbreaks. A workshop organized jointly by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Center (PANAFTOSA), will help participants hone their work in surveillance, early detection, and response to animal-human spread of flu, especially avian flu. Flu experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) attending the meeting will join to share experience and learn more about initiatives in participating countries.
Contemporary H5N1 viruses belonging to clade 2.3.4.4b have been circulating widely globally for years but gaining ground in North American birds and poultry beginning in May of 2022. As of March 10, 2023, class 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses have been detected in 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the United States and Canada. The first human infection with these H5N1 viruses in South America occurred in Ecuador in January 2023. In February, Peru reported H5N1 virus infections in sea lions and pelicans following deaths of hundreds of these animals. The introduction of avian flu poses a threat to the region, requiring both animal and human health sectors to be involved in surveillance and response preparations.
The objectives of this workshop are to identify aspects of preventing, detecting, and responding to zoonotic flu, particularly avian flu, that participating groups should focus on strengthening. Additionally, the workshop aims to update guidelines on flu at the human-animal interface and PAHO recommendations to strengthen work between multiple sectors on surveillance, early detection, and response. The workshop will also review the experiences of countries that have already had avian flu infections in people and animals. This is an opportunity to strengthen regional work on the human-animal interface with WHO Collaborating Centers and strategic partners.
Internationally, CDC has been actively working in avian flu surveillance and prevention for some time, helping to coordinate efforts with public health officials to proactively prepare for and respond to H5 infections in people and animals. This workshop adds to those international efforts in prevention, surveillance, and emergency response by encouraging sharing of work on animal flu, based on the experiences of the organization’s participating countries. Additionally, the workshop will help to develop a series of specific recommendations for work on zoonotic flu in humans and animals for prevention, surveillance, and emergency response, based on successful examples.
CDC has been working domestically to address the H5N1 bird flu situation as well. CDC’s current influenza surveillance systems are well equipped to rapidly detect cases of avian influenza A virus infections, including the H5N1 virus, in people. CDC’s influenza virus tests, which can detect both seasonal influenza viruses and novel influenza A viruses, are used in all 50 US states and worldwide. In addition, there are CDC diagnostic tests that specifically detect current H5 viruses, which are available from public health laboratories in all 50 US states and from international laboratories.
A recently produced CDC candidate H5 vaccine virus (CVV) is identical or nearly identical to the hemagglutinin (HA) of the recently detected H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b viruses in birds and mammals (including the 2022 H5 outbreak in mink in Spain), and could be used to produce a vaccine for people if needed, which could offer good protection. This CVV H5 is available and has already been shared with vaccine manufacturers. Because flu viruses are constantly changing, CDC is constantly testing these viruses for genetic changes that suggest they might spread more easily to and from people and cause serious illness in people, or for changes that suggest less susceptibility to antivirals,
CDC, along with its state and local public health partners, also continues to actively monitor people who have been exposed to infected poultry and birds for 10 days after exposure. To date, public health departments have monitored more than 6,300 people in more than 50 jurisdictions who were exposed to H5N1-infected birds/poultry. More than 160 of the people being monitored developed symptoms and were subsequently tested for seasonal influenza viruses and novel influenza A viruses along with other respiratory viruses. Genetic material from the H5N1 virus was only detected in a respiratory sample from a person in Colorado .
More information is available on bird protection measures , including what to do if you find a dead bird. The CDC also has guidance for specific groups of people who are exposed to poultry, such as poultry workers and people responding to poultry outbreaks. CDC will continue to provide further updates on the situation and will update guidance as needed. Infections in humans with avian influenza viruses are rare, but can occur after exposure to infected poultry/birds. Less common still, there have been a few cases of person-to-person spread on a limited and non-sustained basis. More information about avian influenza is available on the CDC website .
The workshop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was organized jointly by the Infectious Hazard Management Unit of the Health Emergencies Department of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Pan American Foot and Mouth Disease Center ( PANAFTOSE). The workshop will host participants including professionals from the health and agriculture sectors of multiple countries involved in animal influenza programs. Participants also include technical representatives from WHO collaborating centers and regional reference laboratories, and representatives from organizations such as the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). PAHO officials involved in technical cooperation on animal influenza will also be participating.