MOSCOW – Russia said its scientists detected the first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza to humans and alerted the World Health Organization.
In comments broadcast on television, Russian health surveillance chief Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said that scientists at the Vektor laboratory isolated the genetic material from the strain of seven workers at a farm in southern Russia, where an outbreak was reported among birds in December. .
The workers did not suffer serious health consequences, he added.
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“Information about the world’s first case of transmission of avian influenza (H5N8) to humans has already been sent to the World Health Organization,” said Popova.
There are different subtypes of avian influenza viruses.
Although the highly contagious H5N8 strain is lethal to birds, it has never been reported to spread to humans.
Popova praised “the important scientific discovery”, saying that “time will tell” if the virus could mutate further.
“The discovery of these mutations when the virus has not yet acquired the ability to transmit from human to human gives all of us, the whole world, time to prepare for possible mutations and to react in an appropriate and timely manner,” said Popova.
People can become infected with avian and swine flu viruses, such as subtypes A (H5N1) and A (H7N9) of avian influenza and subtypes of swine flu, such as A (H1N1).
According to the WHO, people are usually infected through direct contact with animals or contaminated environments, and there is no sustained transmission between humans.
H5N1 in people can cause serious illness and has a 60 percent death rate.
Located in Koltsovo, outside the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, the Vektor State Virology and Biotechnology Center has developed one of several coronavirus vaccines in Russia.
In the Soviet era, the top secret laboratory conducted secret research on biological weapons and still stores viruses ranging from Ebola to smallpox.
Speaking of televised comments, Vektor chief Rinat Maksyutov said the laboratory was ready to start developing test kits that would help detect potential cases of H5N8 in humans and start working on a vaccine.
The Soviet Union was a scientific power and Russia sought to claim a leading role in vaccine research under President Vladimir Putin.
Russia registered the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in August, months before Western competitors and even before large-scale clinical trials.
After initial skepticism in the West, the Lancet newspaper published results this month showing that the Russian vaccine – named after the Soviet-era satellite – is safe and effective.
Avian flu has hit several European countries, including France, where hundreds of thousands of birds have been euthanized to prevent infection.
