GVN warns US of bird flu’s potential to cause human pandemic

The Global Virus Network (GVN), an international consortium of over 80 virology research centres spanning more than 40 countries, has expressed concerns to the United States regarding the potential for avian influenza viruses to cause a global pandemic, thereby jeopardising global public health. The alert in the United States is justified by the publication of a detailed analysis in The Lancet Regional Health—Americas which describes the outbreak in North America, with nearly 1,000 dairy herds affected and more than 70 human cases, including the first confirmed death in the United States. Although human-to-human transmission has not yet been documented, the potential for viral mutations and reassortments to increase transmissibility is a matter of concern, with the potential to fuel the pandemic risk among humans. The GVN has issued a call to governments, encouraging them to enhance surveillance measures and implement biosecurity protocols to prepare for the possibility of human-to-human transmission. The GVN has also called for a coordinated global response to this potential threat.