2024-07-11 13:40:09
Virologists see the bird flu virus H5N1 as a potential pandemic candidate. What this means for Germany and why experts believe that the country would be better prepared than with Corona.
Since Corona at the latest, “pandemic” has become a trigger word. Accordingly, there is currently a lot of attention on the bird flu virus H5N1 that is currently circulating, which virologist Christian Drosten and other experts see as a potential pandemic candidate. In the event of an outbreak in humans, however, Germany would probably be much better prepared than in the case of Corona. What you need to know:
The H5N1 virus has been increasingly affecting birds for decades – initially in Asia, but now almost worldwide. Mammals have also become ill. For several years now, a special group of H5N1 viruses has been spreading, the so-called clade 2.3.4.4b, which has also infected numerous cattle in the USA. There have been no cattle infected with H5N1 to date.
It is still unclear how the transmission from a wild bird to a cow occurred. What is certain is that humans have now also become infected from the cattle. According to the US health authority CDC, four cases were recorded by mid-year in the context of the outbreak in US dairy farms.
What does this mean for people in Germany?
According to infectious disease specialist Leif Erik Sander from the Berlin Charité, there is currently no reason for people in Germany to worry. So far, cattle infected with H5N1 have only been registered in the USA. In Germany, the pathogen has not been detected in cows or milk. Infections in the people infected in the USA have also been relatively mild so far. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the risk to public health for the general population to be low.
Nevertheless, Sander believes that the infestation of cattle is worrying because the virus is multiplying in a large population of mammals that are used by humans. One of the biggest concerns is that the virus will continue to adapt. “If the virus spreads widely in one species, the concern is that it can adapt to other mammals or mix with other influenza viruses. That would allow it to infect humans more strongly and could then possibly be transmitted from person to person.”
According to Sander, the vaccine situation is very different from that of Corona, where a prototype had to be produced first. For a number of companies, the development of vaccines against new strains of flu viruses is routine because they also do this twice a year for seasonal flu vaccines, as a spokesperson for the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA) explained. One is needed for each of the southern and northern hemispheres.
The bird flu virus H5N1 is an influenza A virus, like the seasonal flu. According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute, several H5N1 vaccines are approved in the European Union. These are produced either using chicken eggs or by multiplying the viruses in cell culture, just like the seasonal influenza vaccines.
The EU recently secured 665,000 doses of vaccine from the manufacturer CSL Seqirus against the transmission of bird flu from animals to humans for several member states. Germany is not currently participating.
In the event of a bird flu pandemic, vaccines for people in Germany could be made available quickly, Sander believes. “We have vaccines that are approved and that could be adapted very quickly the moment a virus triggers a pandemic.” Of course, production capacities would have to be ramped up accordingly for this. There are pre-pandemic vaccines or model vaccines that are basically already ready, but not yet adapted to the new clade of H5N1 viruses. However, this adaptation can be done quickly, the Charité professor is convinced.
Vaccines for cattle would have to be completely retested, and there are none yet. “That should happen now.” Theoretically, the same vaccine could be used for cows and humans, says Sander. However, there are usually different manufacturers for human and veterinary vaccines.
According to VFA, a number of companies are currently developing novel mRNA-based flu vaccines – the technology that was also used in some Covid-19 vaccines. These include the US company Moderna and the Tübingen-based biotech company Curevac in collaboration with the biopharmaceutical company GSK.