What kind of weapons will we have if they adapt to people?

“As the virus continues to be detected in animals and their associated environments, including milk, more sporadic cases are expected to emerge in humans. The search for active cases among people infected with H5N1 must continue. to determine whether there is transmission of infection between people,” says WHO. The virus has already impacted bird biodiversity as well as the economics of the livestock sector, and scientists now fear it could adapt to humans and could cause a health emergency.

Although the symptoms seen in people from clade 2.3.4.4.b of the H5N1 virus have so far been mild, there are concerns that a mutation in the virus could make it more deadly. From 2021 WHO is aware of 13 human cases of infection with this clade.

, two of them take place in Spain. The problem is that the more cases of the disease there are in mammals, the more likely it is that the virus will change and adapt. If this happens, what emergency will humanity have to cope with?

Vaccines in plain sight

“It is very likely that seasonal influenza vaccines will not provide protection against possible pandemic influenza,” explains the Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Pediatric Association (AEP). Fortunately, Europe has begun to develop a preliminary strategy in case this virus becomes the next big pandemic. “The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has allowed two procedures to speed up vaccine availability in a situation of an imminent pandemic,” AEP clarifies.

The first is the availability of “preparatory vaccines” and the second is an emergency assessment mechanism. Just two months ago, the EMA Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended the approval of two vaccines: Celldemic and Incellipan. Although some are already approved for the treatment of pandemic influenza, These two questions focus on the potential problem that the H5N1 virus may pose. Both drugs can be used from six months of age and were developed by Seqirus Netherlands BV.

(Potential danger of the “new” bird flu spreading to humans: “Its mortality rate is 53%”

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How are these two vaccines different? The EMA recommends authorizing Celldemic for standard marketing and Incellipan for conditional marketing. That is, Incellipan can go on sale only if a pandemic is declared due to the avian influenza A virus of subtype H5N1. This conditional approval “is a pragmatic tool for rapid approval a medicine that fills an unmet medical need; ensures that the medicine meets the strict standards of the European Union in terms of safety, efficacy and quality, pending full data on these aspects,” explains AEP.

And an antiviral agent

For this reason, the European Union proposes the use of Celldemic and Incellipan in the event of possible H5N1 outbreaks that could lead to a pandemic if a pandemic situation has already been declared. Here, EMA intends to be more prepared than when the coronavirus pandemic struck. And, in addition, the availability of a vaccine that can be adapted to a possible change in the situation with the virus and quickly released to the market.

In any case, the scientific community not only has vaccines to prevent the possible spread of the virus among people, but also some antiviral drugs. Among them, oseltamivir stands out, which, in fact, It has already been used by a farm operator in Texas in the US., which was infected with the H5N1 virus. Authorities in the North American country said they used the drug in this patient, who reported conjunctivitis in only one eye as a symptom.

Oseltamivir is a neuraminidase inhibitor that is used to prevent the influenza virus from spreading in the body and also helps relieve symptoms of the infection. In fact, the package insert for this drug notes that it can be prescribed at any age “as a preventative treatment in exceptional circumstances, e.g. if there is a global influenza epidemic (influenza pandemic) and when the seasonal influenza vaccine does not provide sufficient protection.

It’s convenient to remember The public health risk from the H5N1 virus remains lowbut the latest Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to be prepared for any risk of this type throughout the world.