Two linked clinical cases of avian influenza in Cambodia: what threat to public health in southeast Asia does this pose?
Summary:• There is much uncertainty in predicting the next major incidence of influenza A• The source of recent clinical cases of A/H5N1 in Cambodia are unknown• A/H5N1 is highly virulent in farmed poultry and can crossover to infect humans• Human-to-human transmission would pose a significant publi...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Zagazig University, Faculty of Medicine
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Microbes and Infectious Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://mid.journals.ekb.eg/article_296881_e4e84c6d801768aebc7d1a1303f889fe.pdf |
| Summary: | Summary:• There is much uncertainty in predicting the next major incidence of influenza A• The source of recent clinical cases of A/H5N1 in Cambodia are unknown• A/H5N1 is highly virulent in farmed poultry and can crossover to infect humans• Human-to-human transmission would pose a significant public health threat• Regional pandemic preparedness in Southeast Asia is required to mitigate this risk Conclusion: Highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI H5N1), more commonly known as bird flu – is, as the name suggests – primarily a disease that affects birds, yet it can also infect mammals, including humans. HPAI is a persistent public health threat as a leading cause of severe respiratory disease. While the source of infection of the A/H5N1 isolate that caused the death of a child in Cambodia may never be determined unequivocally, this emergency event should sound a warning of what may be to come. With the virtue of hindsight, in all but a handful of countries the real time surveillance and early detection system in place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic for control of community transmission was grossly inadequate and need of major overhaul. Striking a positive note, those hard-learnt lessons are now helping to ensure better outbreak preparedness and threat mitigation for a virulent strain of bird flu should it spread to, and between, humans. |
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| ISSN: | 2682-4132 2682-4140 |