‘100 times worse than Covid’: What is H5N1 bird flu, why has its outbreak sparked concern?

A fresh bird flu outbreak in the United States has sparked concern among health authorities, with a person in Texas being diagnosed with an infection caused by the H5N1 virus. This particular virus strain has a high fatality rate among wild birds, poultry and mammals, and may lead to a health crisis worse than Covid-19 if it ends up being fatal for humans, an expert was reported as saying by Daily Mail.

“This appears to be 100 times worse than Covid, or it could be if it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate. Once it’s mutated to infect humans, we can only hope that the [fatality rate] drops,” said John Fulton, who was identified by the UK-based tabloid as a pharmaceutical industry expert who has been working on a bird flu vaccine.

On April 1, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that a farm worker in Texas has contracted the H5N1 virus. The virus has already infected thousands of wild birds, poultry and dairy animals in five provinces – Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas – and this is the first case related to its transmission to a human amid the current outbreak.

The person contracted the virus from cows, the CDC said, adding that the patient was told to isolate, and is being treated with an antiviral drug for flu The only symptom seen so far is redness in the eye, the health body further said, while noting that the patient has been recovering well.

What is the H5N1 bird flu outbreak?

It is a kind of bird flu spread by the H5N1 virus, which is highly contagious among wild birds and poultry, and has a high fatality rate. An estimated 100 million birds across the globe have been infected due to the virus since 2022, with around 50 million birds succumbing to the infection and several millions being culled by authorities to prevent the spread of infections, The Hindu reported last year.

The virus was first identified in 1959, and mutilated over time. From 2020 onwards, it has been observed in the US that the virus has not only been infecting birds, but also mammals like dogs, bears, seals, porpoises and cats, The Associated Press reported, citing health experts.

Have humans been infected earlier by H5N1 virus?

Yes, the virus has infected scores of humans. From 2003 to March 2024, a total of 888 worldwide human cases of infection of H5N1, “including 463 deaths”, have been reported across 23 countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

In Vietnam alone, 129 infections have been reported since 2003, with 63 persons succumbing to the disease

Almost all cases of human infection have been linked to close contact with infected live or dead birds, or contaminated environments, the WHO said.

Can H5N1 bird flu be compared to Covid-19 pandemic?

While the expert speaking to Daily Mail has described H5N1 as potentially “100 times more worse” than Covid-19, several experts disagree, pointing out to the fact that the scientific fraternity is aware about the existence of H5N1 virus since decades. On the other hand, there was scarce information available about the strain of Covid-19 that caused the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

According to the CDC, “the human health risk currently remains low”. The US health agency added that the virus which has infected the person in Texas is “very closely related to two existing HPAI A(H5N1) candidate vaccine viruses that are already available to manufacturers, and which could be used to make vaccine if needed.”

What is the economic impact of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak?

The economic impact, if any, will be restricted to the poultry industry of the US. “There is a concern in terms of how this might impact other markets, the egg market, the beef market,” the Associated Press quoted Daren Detwiler, a food safety and policy expert at Northeastern University.

The expert claimed that egg prices could rise in the domestic market, if steps are not taken to contain the transmission of virus among the poultry. The egg industry is already facing some strain on the supply side since a bird flu outbreak in 2023, followed by the jump in demand during Easter. On an average, 3 billion eggs are consumed per year in the US, as per the data shared by the American Egg Board.

The last major bird flu outbreak reported in the US, in 2022, had resulted in about “40 million animal losses and economic costs ranging from $2.5 to $3 billion”, the National Health Institute, America’s state-run biomedical research agency, said in a report.