Achi news desk-
H5N1 or bird flu is devastating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the US, sparking concerns about “pandemic potential” for human beings. Now a health expert is urging Canada to step up surveillance north of the border.
“The risk increases the more mammals are infected,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist from Toronto, to CTV News Channel on Sunday. “The more mammals that are infected, the more opportunities there are for this virus to mutate.”
Bogoch is urging authorities to “actively search” for the virus and implement widespread surveillance as the risk increases in Canada due to the extent of cases south of the border.
“You know, if you don’t look you’ll never find it,” Bogoch told CTV News Channel host Renee Rodgers. “Cast a wide net.”
Why should we worry?
Matthew Miller, of the McMaster Immunology Research Center in Hamilton, agrees with the infectious disease expert and says that the transition of bird flu to spreading easily in mammals happened quite suddenly.
He told CTV News Toronto that while it is “not inevitable” that the disease will become more transmissible among humans, “the risk, I would say, is serious.”
Bogoch also agrees, saying that the “key goal” for health officials is to quickly identify where the outbreaks are and quickly break down outbreaks to prevent mammal transmission.
“Obviously we wouldn’t want it to be more transferable,” Bogoch said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg is ready to rapidly test and detect human cases of bird flu to monitor any transmission and spread of the virus to humans.
“PHAC has established a surveillance system for emerging respiratory diseases that, in collaboration with jurisdictions, allows for the identification and monitoring of occupationally exposed individuals,” wrote Anna Maddison, spokeswoman for the PHAC in an email to CTVNews.ca.
Although the risk of H5N1 infecting people in Canada is low, PHAC is warning Canadians to avoid contact with any live or dead wildlife.
Those who cannot, according to PHAC, such as farm workers, veterinarians, hunters and wildlife workers, should wear proper personal protective equipment and practice good hand hygiene.
US struggles to contain major outbreaks
However, as calls for Canadians to proactively prepare grow, cases are spreading across the US – leading authorities to scramble to contain the spread in several states.
“They realized it was much more widespread than originally thought.” Bogoch said, “Now they are scrambling to get this under control.
His advice? Cast a “wide net” and test as much as possible.
“So one of the things we see is to check the milk supply,” explained Bogoch. msgstr “You want to find a zero signal.”
Samples of milk collected from sick cows from Kansas to Texas have tested positive for bird flu, but the US Department of Agriculture says the nation’s milk supply remains safe.
“If you see a signal that means it’s clear that some herds have been affected,” said Bogoch.
Another infection mitigation strategy, according to Bogoch, is one that became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic – wastewater surveillance.
“It’s quite low cost, very high yield and it’s practical,” says Bogoch. “You can relate [spread] before a case occurs.”
Miller also recommends “systematic surveillance” of cattle in Canada, saying it is “justified at this point” given the risk in the U.S.
“We don’t have all the answers”
The detection of milk and milk products shows how far the virus can reach – and experts warn it can spread quickly after outbreaks hit migratory bird species.
“Scavenger mammals then come into contact with the dead birds,” explained Bogoch. “They eat the dead birds … and they get infected.”
Although Canada has yet to have “active cases” in Canada, Bogoch warned that now is the time for us to prepare, which includes more testing of dairy products at the retail level.
“The pasteurization process is great and inactivates the virus.” Bogoch said. “We don’t sell raw milk here.”
He also said that the latest data from the United States also shows that their “pasteurization process” remains safe, but the fact that “viral fragments and inactive virus” are being found in milk available in commercial is “troubled.”
“It shows that the magnitude of this case, in this case, is in dairy cattle and of course other mammals.”
The fact that the cases are so much more than originally predicted, according to Bogoch, should indicate to authorities that the virus is monitoring for more transmissible mutations because infection poses serious risks to humans and other mammals.
“We have to be humble and appreciate that we don’t have all the answers,” Bogoch warned, “We have to take this virus seriously.”
With files from Christl Dabu of CTV News and Pauline Chan of CTV News Toronto
