Stopping a Bird Flu Epidemic: What Experts Say Must Be Done

Key Takeaways

• The public and private sectors should step in now to counter the threat of an H5N1 bird flu epidemic, experts say

• Farm workers should be offered vaccines to protect them against infection from poultry or cattle

• Better vaccines that directly target H5N1 should be developed

MONDAY, Sept. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The time is now to prepare for a potential pandemic involving the H5N1 bird flu, says a group of international vaccine and public health experts.

Avian influenza vaccines need to developed, stockpiled and even delivered to people at highest risk of contracting the bird flu, the experts argue in an editorial published Sept. 4 in the Journal of the American Medical Association .

“At this critical juncture, decisions about vaccine development, stockpiling and deployment will shape our ability to respond to immediate and future pandemic risks,” the researchers wrote.

There have been 14 human cases of bird flu in the United States since 2022, four following exposure to dairy cows and 10 following exposure to poultry, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a new case had emerged in a patient hospitalized in Missouri who had no known contact with animals. That case is being throughly investigated, the agency said.

Bird flu has also sickened more than 100 million poultry and infected 196 U.S. diary herds, the CDC says. Outbreaks in poultry have occurred in 48 states, and dairy cows have become infected in 14 states.

“It is highly concerning that this H5N1 strain, compared with prior ones, has had unprecedented spread among mammals,” said editorial co-author Dr. Jesse Goodman , a professor and infectious disease specialist at Georgetown University School of Medicine, in Washington, D.C.

“Although human cases have so far been relatively mild, the threat of a pandemic is real, given the virus’ widespread and continued presence close to humans and its potential  to re-assort with human influenza viruses or mutate to acquire the ability to transmit among humans,” Goodman said in a Georgetown news release.

The U.S. government is readying 4.8 million stockpiled doses of H5N8 flu vaccine, which is expected to offer cross-protection against the H5N1 strains now spreading, the experts said.

These stockpiled H5N8 vaccines should be offered voluntarily to farm workers in close contact with poultry and cattle, to help protect them against infection, the editorial says.

The government also needs to refresh its vaccine stockpiles with doses that are better matched to H5N1, the experts added.

The goal is to ensure that at least 20 million people -- particularly critical workforce members -- can be rapidly immunized in the event of a pandemic, they said.

In the long term, public health officials should explore immunization strategies that could head off potential pandemics, they noted.

People at high risk of severe infection could be vaccinated in between pandemics, to build population immunity that could blunt the ability of any new and dangerous viral strains to spread quickly between humans, the editorial says.

The public and private sectors should also work together to create a comprehensive strategy to protect both human and animal health by developing vaccines, tests and therapies for emerging threats, the experts stressed.

“The time for decisive action is not when a pandemic strikes, but today, while we have the opportunity,” the experts concluded.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the H5N1 bird flu .

SOURCE: Georgetown University, news release, Sept. 4, 2024

What This Means For You

Farm workers who handle poultry or cattle should ask their doctor about vaccines that could provide some protection against the H5N1 avian flu.