By: Kaja Antic, Staff Writer
Avian influenza, specifically the highly contagious and infectious subtype H5N1, has seen increasing cases worldwide since 2020. As its name suggests, the virus is primarily found in birds, but it’s also been found in at least 26 mammals since its classification in 1996. Humans have also contracted the H5N1 avian flu, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting 889 human cases between 2003 and 2024 — 463 of those cases being fatal. While some continue to ignore the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there is another taking hold across the globe that also deserves attention.
The Canadian government has stated that it’s “currently responding” to rising global cases of H5N1. Since 2022, there have been 3,150 positive cases of the virus in Canadian wildlife, and since 2021, over 11 million domesticated birds have been impacted by H5N1. While there have been no reported cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus, the WHO has stated that there is an “enormous concern” with the rampant spread of H5N1, describing it as a global animal pandemic. There have been an estimated tens of millions of affected poultry, with large crossover with mammalian infections. Mammalian infection can lead to higher chances of human infection, which should be concerning considering the 52% mortality rate.
H5N1’s transmission is primarily through materials like feces and saliva, which differs from COVID-19’s airborne quality. Most human cases of H5N1 are seen in agriculture or livestock workers, but “anecdotal reports” have included people with “exposure to raw or undercooked contaminated poultry products.” Even though H5N1 exposure is less likely in daily life, the high mortality rate should be more worrying to government health officials than it currently is. Canada may not have had a confirmed human case of the H5N1 in a decade, but scientists have noticed mutations resulting in previously unaffected species being infected with the virus. Typically, mammals are exposed to H5N1 by eating contaminated poultry. However, an outbreak at a Spanish mink farm in 2022 was the result of “mammal-to-mammal” transmission. And while humans outside the livestock industry are at a low risk of infection, viruses are known to evolve — often unexpectedly.
“Canada may not have had a confirmed human case of H5N1 in a decade, but there is still a large risk as the virus continues to adapt and mutate.”
By now we are aware of actions that should be taken during a global pandemic, yet it seems like the world is slow to catch up. With the slow action taken against COVID-19, you’d think governments would hesitate to make the same mistakes — though it seems unimportant in the offices of world leadership. There have been trials since 2006 testing a potential vaccine against the H5N1 virus subtype, though there has not yet been a large-scale roll out of preventative vaccinations. The European Medicines Agency currently has three authorized vaccines meant to prevent a pandemic: Foclivia, Adjupanrix, and Pandemic influenza vaccine H5N1 AstraZeneca. The American Food and Drug Administration has also approved a vaccine named Audenz, though there has yet to be any widespread vaccination efforts in the US.
Only recently has Finland made available vaccinations for those who are 18 years or older and have an increased risk of contracting the virus, such as working with domesticated farm animals. There have been suggestions for widespread H5N1 vaccines, though this would not necessarily limit the viral spread between animals, and could have negative implications for trade regulations.
The avian flu is not new, and yet, the preventative measures taken to reduce spread, increase awareness, and produce vaccines is not adequate to combat the highly transmissible and highly deadly virus. With the COVID-19 pandemic, reports found that the initial response from governments and health officials was delayed. As the H5N1 strain of the avian flu has been known for decades to have many negative effects on humans and animals, you would think there would be quicker action to combat the ever-evolving pandemic.
With millions of animals and hundreds of people affected by the H5N1 pandemic worldwide, there should be more action taken to prevent even more horrific outcomes, especially after the continuous lack of preventative action for the COVID-19 pandemic. While H5N1 may not be an immediate threat to humanity, it very well could be one day, and the world needs to take proper action before the circumstances get that dire.
