UK well being consultants are sharing particulars of their Covid-style plans in opposition to chook flu, together with modelling for the unlikely situation that it may mutate and trigger a pandemic in folks.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says there isn’t a proof H5N1 virus is an imminent risk or can unfold between folks, regardless of some getting sick after contact with contaminated birds.

But there isn’t a room for complacency.

One professional informed the BBC, we should watch the scenario extraordinarily carefully.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is urging heightened vigilance from all international locations, following the demise of an 11-year-old woman in Cambodia from H5N1.

The woman’s father has additionally examined optimistic, based on Cambodia’s well being minister.

Investigators are working to ascertain if contaminated birds have been the trigger, slightly than a case of human-to-human transmission.

Humans hardly ever get chook flu, however once they do it’s normally from coming into direct contact with contaminated birds.

Since late 2021, the world has been experiencing one of many worst world avian influenza outbreaks on document, with tens of hundreds of thousands of poultry culled and mass wild chook die-offs.

And there have been a couple of infections in some mammals, together with foxes and otters within the UK.

Dr Meera Chand, from the UKHSA, mentioned the entire newest proof steered H5N1 couldn’t presently unfold simply to folks.

“However, viruses constantly evolve, and we remain vigilant for any evidence of changing risk to the population, as well as working with partners to address gaps in the scientific evidence.”

In preparation for a worst-case situation of human-to-human unfold, the UKHSA is modelling:

When the Covid pandemic hit, there have been no appropriate vaccines obtainable to combat that virus. But for chook flu, there are already a number of good candidates which may assist.

WHO-affiliated labs already maintain two flu virus strains which might be carefully associated to the circulating H5N1 virus, that producers can use to develop new pictures if wanted, consultants mentioned at a gathering on Friday.

Prof Peter Openshaw, from Imperial College London, is a member of Nervtag – the group that advises the British authorities on new and rising threats from respiratory viruses.

He informed the BBC that the truth that we’re nonetheless in a Covid pandemic on no account lessened the potential for one other pandemic coming from elsewhere.

“We absolutely need to watch this one,” he mentioned.

“The good news at the moment is that there’s no evidence of human-to-human spread.

“We want to arrange for the worst however clearly hope for the very best, to make use of the outdated phrase.”

“Not one other pandemic” might well be the exasperated response of many to talk of the risks from bird flu.

Covid fatigue is understandable but the H5N1 virus is a real concern to many scientists who monitor global disease threats.

Thankfully, the virus does not spread easily from birds to humans, requiring close contact. That would need to change if the threat of a human pandemic was to be realised, which would require the virus to mutate.

Since 2003 the WHO has recorded 868 cases in humans, of which 457 were fatal, so the mortality rate is more than 50%.

Scientists need to see higher surveillance, extra funding in vaccines and antivirals – so that ought to the worst ever occur, the world shall be higher ready than it was when Covid emerged.