2023-11-12 11:16:00
Scientists Working to Prevent Next Pandemic – Bird Flu a Potential Threat
By: Nikta Vahid-Moghtada, MDR
As of: November 12, 2023 10:16 a.m
With flu and corona numbers on the rise in Germany, researchers around the world are working tirelessly to prevent another pandemic from breaking out. One potential candidate is bird flu, which not only affects birds but also kills mammals.
The bird flu virus H5N1 has been rampant around the world for years, circulating among bird populations globally and leading to millions of bird deaths. What’s even more alarming is that the virus has begun to affect mammals, with mass deaths of seals in New England in the U.S. and in South America. The virus has also occasionally spread to humans, with 878 H5N1 infections reported to WHO worldwide between January 2003 and August 2023, resulting in 458 fatalities.
Timm Harder, an infectious disease doctor and laboratory manager, is researching the bird flu virus and its subtypes and warns that the virus’s rapid spread increases the chance of it making the leap from animals to humans.
Flu viruses can adapt well to their potential hosts and pose an immense danger as different flu viruses can reassemble in a host and form a completely new virus in a process called “reassortment.”
Fabian Leendertz, the founding director of the Helmholtz Institute for One Health, is focusing on finding the events and chains that lead to pandemics. His ‘One Health’ approach aims to ensure that as few pathogens as possible provoke pandemics and emphasizes that humans are responsible for the ecological and climatic changes that make zoonoses possible.
Climate change has also been identified as a catalyst for infectious diseases, with the increasing spread of disease vectors due to man-made climate change. As such, collaboration, developing vaccines, and sharing knowledge are essential for pandemic preparedness.
A two-part documentary, “What will be the next pandemic?” provides an overview of the global research conducted by scientists, shedding light on the potential threats and precautionary measures to be taken. The documentary is set to be available from November 13th in the ARD media library, offering a comprehensive insight into the efforts to prevent the next pandemic.]
#Virus #research #Faster #mutation