Nigeria: new bird flu outbreak increases health risk

According to the NCDC, the affected states include Kano, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Nasarawa, Kaduna and the Niger States, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports that humans in the region have also been infected by contact with the avian flu outbreak.

“As of 28 March 2021, 83 human nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal samples have been collected from contacts of confirmed birds in four states: Kano (27), Bauchi (19), Gombe (19), and Plateau (18),” a statement from the ECDC said. “All contacts were farmers, farmworkers, bird-handlers, and traders, and all were asymptomatic. Of the 83 collected samples, 64 samples were analysed using real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR). From the 64 analysed samples, seven were positive for influenza A virus, including six samples of influenza A … and one sample of unsubtypable influenza A virus. These seven confirmed samples have been reported in Kano (four) and Plateau (three) states and have been shipped to the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre in the US for further characterisation.”

In February 2021, the first case of H5N8 avian flu was reported in humans in Russia. Many remain concerned that these cases could lead to possible mutations, leading to widespread human infection. For now, however, cases remain few and far between. But with climbing temperatures, the risk of infectious disease transmission will continue to increase.