This quest requires international cooperation and communication, increasingly falling prey to global disharmony and factionalism. Whether you adhere to a “it was created in the lab,” “it came from so-called ‘wet markets’,” or “it was first carried by bats” theories over the origins of COVID, it is abundantly clear that China was anything but candid, open and honest with their initial struggle against COVID. Pretending that a disease is under control when it is not may perhaps look good to internal citizens, but when that mendacious and manipulative misinformation accelerates infection, particularly where the disease is particularly virulent and crosses obviously porous international boundaries, the consequences can be and have been devastating. It happened during WWI with the “Spanish” Flu and exploded once again with the recent pandemic.
Serious infections, some with zoonotic potential, have appeared in the last few decades, from Mad Cow Disease to a litany of avian viruses. Epidemiologists are particularly focused on the latest strain of avian flu, one that has devasted the poultry industry, sending the price of eggs soaring and forcing farmers to kill off flocks of their prized chickens. It has happened here and overseas. In a February 16th report from the Yale University School of Health, summarized by Colin Poitras, the vast scope this rapidly spreading zoonotic virus is examined:
An outbreak of avian flu has affected a record number of poultry birds in the United States. More than 58 million poultry birds in 47 states have either died from avian influenza or been culled (killed) due to exposure to infected birds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s one of the reasons the price of eggs is so high. There are increasing reports that the virus has spread to mammals such as sea lions, foxes, and minks. So should we, as humans, be concerned that we could be next? Yale School of Public Health epidemiologist Dr. Sten Vermund answers your questions.
What is avian flu, and why is the current outbreak causing so much concern?
S.V.: Avian flu or avian influenza (H5N1) is part of a family of viruses known as Influenza A, which are the only influenza viruses known to cause global flu pandemics in humans. Avian flu refers to bird, duck, and goose hosts. Other Influenza A viruses have been found in pigs (Swine flu or H1N1), horses (Equine Influenza), whales, and even cats…
Why are health officials worried that the current avian flu virus has been found in mammals?
S.V.: Simply put, the jump from birds to mammals increases the risk of humans becoming infected through a process known as “reassortment.” This happens when two influenza viruses -one human-adapted strain and one animal strain from birds or pigs, most often- infect the same host at the same time and swap genetic information.
Viruses live to propagate. So, the more a virus spreads, the more opportunities it has to multiply in a host and for reassortment to occur. These genetic changes can occur suddenly, potentially making the virus more infectious to humans who have little or no immunity to this new virus. That is what health officials are most concerned about.
What can people do now to avoid possible infection with avian flu?
S.V.: The threat of avian flu to humans is still very low. If people are unfortunate enough to become infected with avian flu, most experience only minor flu-like symptoms, sometimes pneumonia. Death is extremely rare.
However, to provide some protection against a novel reassortment virus, everyone should at least be vaccinated with this year’s flu vaccine, as well as the new human flu vaccine available every fall.
Avoiding direct contact with wild birds and dead birds is advised. As is frequent handwashing, particularly after touching a bird feeder or after being around animals. It is safe to eat poultry and eggs as long as they are properly handled and cooked to 165 degrees F. That temperature kills bacteria and viruses, including bird flu.
But every once and a while, that zoonotic contagion has a more lethal signature. Like COVID. We have learned that politics and pandemics can be a fatal mix. As politicians second guess scientists and doctors, strip health professionals of an ability to deal effectively with a looming or accelerating catastrophe, the most vulnerable in society can become sacrificial lambs. Medical priorities become “woke” and unacceptable to vast constituencies of highly factionalized voters.
Eschewing the adoption of mRNA vaccines because they were the product of Western medicine, China adopted its own and significantly less effective traditional vaccine. The death rate remained high in China, severe lockdowns were required, as the virus mutated. Initially, many political leaders in the United States fearing a huge negative impact on profit-making business, which ultimately occurred anyway, suggested that herd immunity was the only approach, and that primarily weaker and older Americans – viewed as expendable – would truly be at risk for death. Anti-vaxxers even managed to impact school-aged vaccination programs, outside of COVID, that had existed for over half a century with successful results. We even got de facto prescriptions from unqualified and under-informed leaders that did not stop or cure COVID.
Nature does not care about human priorities; there are too many people anyway. If our political leaders make it easier for a disease to cull the human population, nature is ready, willing and most able to take advantage of that weakness.
I’m Peter Dekom, and as countries engage in hot or cold wars, the necessary communication to identify and deal with potential serious zoonotic threats fades with grave consequences for humanity.
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