Seven farm workers in southern Russia were the first humans to catch the H5N8 strain of avian influenza in humans.
Russia told the World Health Organization that the virus is not yet spreading among people, Anna Popova, the country’s head of public health, said on Saturday, according to Bloomberg. All farmers had asymptomatic cases and recovered, she said.
The strain was first reported in November, found in 15 Russian regions among domestic and wild birds. It was not considered dangerous to humans at first.
“It is not transmitted from person to person,” said Popova. “But only time will tell how long future mutations will allow us to overcome this barrier. The world has a chance to prepare for possible mutations and respond in a timely manner to develop tests and vaccines for the strain, she said.
The Vector Institute of Siberia said on Saturday it would start developing tests on humans and a vaccine against H5N8, the RIA news agency reported.
WHO acknowledged having received the information from Russia. “We are discussing with national authorities to gather more information and assess the impact of this event on public health,” the organization told Reuters by email.
H5N8 was also found in France, where hundreds of thousands of birds were slaughtered last month to prevent it from spreading. It was also responsible for the worst bird flu outbreak in Japan in late 2020, and has been detected in China, the Middle East and North Africa in recent months, but so far only in birds.