Virus Vigil

Barbados is on a flu alert as health and agriculture authorities ramp up their surveillance in the wake of new outbreaks of bird flu in the United States, officials said Wednesday.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Arthur Phillips said the health ministry was monitoring the development, while Chief Veterinary Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture Dr Mark Trotman disclosed that his ministry is setting up its own surveillance system.

A poultry facility in Michigan and an egg producer in Texas both reported outbreaks of bird flu  — also known as the highly pathogenic avian influenza — this week. The latest developments also include infected dairy cows and the first known instance of a human catching bird flu from a mammal. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the human case in Texas. The infected person, who reportedly had exposure to dairy cattle presumed to have the bird flu virus, complained of eye redness and is currently recovering, the CDC said.

Although US health officials say the risk to the public remains low, there is rising concern, emerging partly from the news that the largest producer of fresh eggs in the US reported an outbreak.

Dr Trotman said the flu is of concern to Barbados because the virus is “maintaining itself” not only in the US but globally. Of particular concern to him is the virus’ unprecedented animal-to-human transmission.

“This is an alarming development which we still have to analyse and do some risk analyses and see what the implications are. Not only was it seen in a human, but there was also an outbreak in some dairy cattle in Texas not too long ago,” the chief vet told Barbados TODAY.

“So, the nature of the virus seems to have mutated slightly. We are not yet seeing any evidence of direct transmission between animals or between people, which is really the measure that would cause us to think about taking more actions.

“We are detecting bird flu now in species that have never been detected before. So, we are watching it very closely to see how that develops and also trying to put our own preparedness in place in the event it does get to Barbados,” he added.

While Dr Trotman acknowledges that there is no evidence yet of the virus being passed from human to human, he is not ruling out the possibility.

“It is such a new development in this particular strain of virus, that it is something we are obviously watching very closely for any human-to-human transmission. As far as I can find, and the information that has been sent to me and that we have also looked at, there is no evidence of that happening.

“But we are still watching it very closely and taking our own precautions. [But] you never rule that out. COVID-19 was a big call for us in the medical field . . . . How something can spread so rapidly and so severely from humble beginnings is something that we are now very, very acutely aware of.

“So, it’s certainly not something we will rule out, but something we will consider when we are watching the development of the disease if it further changes or mutates,” he said.

Dr Trotman also gave an assurance to Barbadians that poultry imports from the US would be flu-free.

“We are not concerned about the risk of importation of commercial poultry as a result of it, because we have an agreement with the USA to make sure that all the poultry that is brought in commercially is certified by them as free from bird flu and from premises that don’t have any outbreaks,” he declared. “So, we have been able to maintain the supply chain where that is concerned. However, many countries across the world are still experiencing outbreaks.”

He pointed out that the means by which the disease is being transmitted now is mainly through wild birds.

“So, we are still on the alert, we are developing our own surveillance and we are also monitoring very closely all outbreaks that are going on, not only in the US but also in most of our trading partners,” he added.

Some flu viruses mainly affect people, but others chiefly occur in animals.

Avian viruses spread naturally in wild aquatic birds like ducks and geese, and then to chickens and other domesticated poultry.

The bird flu virus drawing attention today — Type A H5N1 — was first identified in 1959. Like other viruses, it has evolved over time, spawning newer versions of itself. Since 2020, the virus has been spreading among more animal species — including dogs, cats, skunks, bears and even seals and porpoises — in scores of countries.

In the US, this version of the bird flu has been detected in wild birds in every state, as well as commercial poultry operations and backyard flocks.

Nationwide, tens of millions of chickens have died from the virus or been killed to stop outbreaks from spreading.

US officials said it had been found in livestock last week and by Tuesday, it had been discovered in dairy herds in five states — Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas — according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The virus, which is highly contagious among wild birds and poultry, has now spread to dairy farms. The American Veterinary Medical Association said that not only is this the first time that bird flu has been found in dairy cattle but this is also only the second time a human has contracted the virus in the US.

Symptoms are similar to that of other cases of flu, including cough, body aches and fever. Some people don’t have noticeable symptoms, but others develop severe, life-threatening pneumonia.

The vast majority of infected people have received it directly from birds, but scientists are on guard for any sign of spread among people.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb