Chinese authorities have unveiled the return of H5N1 avian flu in a province bordering on that where the 2019-nCoV coronavirus appeared. Experts believe that this is a highly pathogenic strain that would not easily affect humans. In other words, there would be no reason to worry too much.
According to an article in the South China Morning Post published on February 2, 2020, China faces a new outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza. This comes as the country is currently battling with the coronavirus from Wuhan. According to local authorities, the H5N1 virus emerged in the city of Shaoyang, located in Hunan province. However, the latter is close to the province of Hubei, home of the coronavirus epidemic.
A first farm was impacted, containing 7,850 chickens of which 4,500 are already dead . The authorities now want to slaughter no less than 18,000 poultry located in the area where the epidemic broke out. For now, no human case has been reported by Chinese authorities.
“Avian, swine, and other zoonotic influenza viruses in humans can cause mild upper respiratory tract infections (fever and cough), early production sputum that can rapidly progress to severe pneumonia, septic shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome or even death. Conjunctivitis, gastrointestinal symptoms, encephalitis and encephalopathy have also been reported to varying degrees depending on the subtype” reads in a 2018 WHO publication.
The H5N1 avian flu virus – often nicknamed "bird flu" – causes serious respiratory diseases, mainly in birds. This was first detected in 1996 in geese in China. Particularly deadly for poultry, the H5N1 virus is nevertheless transmissible to humans. However, according to the WHO, the virus reaches humans with great difficulty and these are cases of direct exposure to infected animals. Fortunately, effective human-to-human transmission does not exist for this virus.
In 2016, we ranked the H5N1 virus among the 15 most dangerous pathogens for humans. If the virus in question reaches us with difficulty, it is still deadly up to 60% ! The fact is that our immune system is not used to fighting this viral subtype. Thus, the WHO keeps an eye on the development of this disease and emphasizes prevention to avoid the spread.
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