This disease can be a potential pandemic threat in 2025

In 2020, the world got locked down because of the sudden COVID pandemic. Though, COVID has retreated, it did take over two years to restore normalcy. Many still live in the fear of another pandemic. Diseases that are a reason of worry amongst the health professionals are – malaria (by a parastite), HIV (by a virus), tuberculosis (a bacterium). Reports say that these three diseases claim lives of around 2 million people each year.

On the other hand, with the pathogens turning anti-microbial resistant, it is another concern for the health workers. Scientists are in a continuous search to identify the next potential threat to human life. The influenza viruses are a potential threat that the human kind should fear getting infected with.

In the current scenario, influenza virus of the subtype H5N1, sometimes referred to as ‘bird flu’. This virus is spread in birds, both wild and domesticated ones like poultry. Recently, it has also been infecting dairy cattle in the states of US and found in horses in Mongolia. The citizens are gripped in the fear that even they might get affected. Earlier, it seemed a rumour but scientific evidence proves that even humans can be infected by it.

Recently, in the USA, 61 such cases of bird flu in humans have been detected. It was mostly found in farm workers coming in contact with infected cattle and by the consumption of raw milk. Last year only two cases were seen. This disease has a 30% mortality rate in humans and is a major concern now.

How does the disease get transmitted?

The disease doesn’t get transmitted from person to person thus this reduces a pandemic-like situation. The causative influenza virus attaches to the molecular structures called sialic receptors on the outside of cells. Then they get inside the cell and start replicating in the cell. Bird flu virus (H5N1) is adaptive to bird sialic receptors while it has mismatches with the sialic receptors of humans. It can’t easily spread in humans.

However, what is worrisome is that one mutation in the bird flu genome can make it efficient to spreading the disease from human to human. In the current form it is not possible to spread the virus in humans.

Action preparedness by the governments in case the bird flu virus makes the unwanted mutation is the only solution apart from vaccine preparedness. Similarly, by surveying and disrupting infectious diseases in humans, we can protect our animals and the environment’s well being also.

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