Should we be worried about the H7N9 bird flu? Experts say yes
The world has experienced its fair share of public health scares, from the Ebola epidemic to mad cow disease and everything in between, but it…
Is the H7N9 bird flu just another minor health scare? (Shutterstock)
The world has experienced its fair share of public health scares, from the Ebola epidemic to mad cow disease and everything in between, but it often seem like these scares are just that: warnings of global illness that never make it to fruition. When it comes to the H7N9 bird flu, however, experts are saying there is a very real chance a pandemic strain could evolve in humans.
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Currently, H7N9’s spread is focused in China, with cases being reported across the country. The virus originally jumped from birds to people in eastern China in February 2013, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicate around a third of those infected died from the illness. Though there was a slight drop in reported cases at the end of the flu season in May, 2013, in October of the same year H7N9’s spread again increased and has remained steady since.
Though individuals infected with H7N9 are more likely to develop severe respiratory symptoms as opposed to mild ones, the good news is no evidence exists of on-going, sustained human-to-human transmission. At the moment, the disease is spreading through the poultry trade, passing into new areas in shipments of live chickens.
According to experts, however, it wouldn’t take much for the virus to mutate and become easily transmissible from one person to the next, and that is what is really so worrisome about H7N9. In a recent study on the emerging virus, research published in the journal Nature, experts identified multiple strains of H7N9 in once area of China where human cases were highest. In this situation, the two virus strains would infect an individual and then share genetic information, creating a stronger version of the virus. This is the type of situation, cautioned experts, that could lead to the evolution of H7N9 into a pandemic human pathogen.
Unless the poultry trade is shut down, H7N9 will likely spread to other countries. (Pete Burana/ Shutterstock)
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Of course, there is no way to know for certain is this will happen. H7N9 may never mutate into a pandemic form, just as the H5N1 bird flu of 2003 never did. Experts are cautioning that as long as the poultry trade remains open in China, however, the risk of the virus mutating increase. It is also just a matter of time before cross-border trade spreads the illness into neighboring countries.
At the moment, no international travel advisories are in place for individuals heading to China. The CDC states: “Since H7N9 is not spreading easily from person to person at this time, CDC does not recommend that people delay or cancel trips to China. The World Health Organization also is watching this situation closely and does not recommend any travel restrictions.”
The organization does recommend China evaluate its poultry policies, practicing “common sense” precautions and not touching birds without washing hands often, or eating undercooked poultry.
