Russia said on Saturday that its scientists had discovered the world’s first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian flu from birds to humans and had warned the World Health Organization.
In comments on television, the head of the Russian health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said that scientists at the Vektor laboratory had isolated the genetic material of the species from seven employees at a poultry farm in southern Russia, where an outbreak among the birds was recorded.
The workers had no serious health consequences, she added. They would have contracted the virus from poultry on the farm.
“Information on the world’s first case of bird flu (H5N8) transmission to humans has already been sent to the World Health Organization,” Popova said.
There are several subtypes of avian flu viruses.
Although the highly contagious strain of H5N8 is deadly to birds, it had never been reported to have spread to humans.
Popova praised “the important scientific discovery,” saying “time will tell” if the virus can continue to mutate.
“The discovery of these mutations while the virus has still not acquired the ability to transmit from human to human gives us all, the world, time to prepare for possible mutations and in an adequate and timely manner. to respond, ”said Popova.
The WHO confirmed on Saturday that it had been informed of the development by Russia.
“We are in talks with national authorities to gather more information and assess the public health implications of this event,” said a spokesman.
“If confirmed, this would be the first time that H5N8 has infected humans.”
The WHO stressed that the Russian workers were “asymptomatic” and that no further human-to-human transmission had been reported.
Humans can become infected with avian and swine flu viruses, such as avian flu subtypes A (H5N1) and A (H7N9) and swine flu subtypes such as A (H1N1).
According to the WHO, humans usually become infected through direct contact with animals or contaminated environments, and there is no sustained transmission between humans.
H5N1 in humans can cause serious illness and has a 60 percent death rate.
‘Tip of the iceberg’
Gwenael Vourc’h, head of research at the French National Institute of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, said influenza viruses are known to evolve “quite quickly” and there may have been other cases than those reported in Russia.
“This is probably the tip of the iceberg,” she told AFP.
However, Francois Renaud, a researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), said he was “not particularly concerned” at this stage.
He added that the coronavirus pandemic has taught countries to respond quickly to potential health threats. “Draconian measures will be taken to stop the outbreak immediately,” he said.
Avian flu is raging in several European countries, including France, where hundreds of thousands of birds have been culled to stop the infection.
Russia’s Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Center, which detected transmission to poultry farm workers, also developed one of the country’s several coronavirus vaccines.
In the Soviet era, the laboratory, located in Koltsovo outside the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, conducted secret biological weapons research.
It still stores viruses ranging from Ebola to smallpox.
In comments on television, Vektor chief Rinat Maksyutov said the lab was ready to develop test kits that would help detect potential cases of H5N8 in humans and start on a vaccine.
The Soviet Union was a scientific powerhouse, and Russia has sought to regain a leadership role in vaccine research under President Vladimir Putin.
Russia registered the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in August, months ahead of Western competitors and even before large-scale clinical trials.
After initial skepticism in the West, The Lancet this month published results showing that the Russian vaccine – named after the Soviet-era satellite – is safe and effective.
© Agence France-Presse