FAO, WHO warn Vietnam to stay vigilant in H5N8 bird flu prevention

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam urged both the Vietnamese government and public to remain vigilant in protective efforts against H5N8 human infection following the first confirmed cases of human transmission in Russia, the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday. Russian authorities have reported that seven poultry farm workers, aged 29 to 60, have been infected with the A(H5N8) strain of avian influenza, also known as bird flu. All of the cases were asymptomatic. According to the WHO, the group of seven are the first confirmed cases of the A(H5N8) strain making the jump to humans. To date, there has been no evidence to suggest that severe human infection or human-to-human transmission of this virus has occurred and that this event likely represents an isolated spillover of the virus from infected chickens to humans. Vietnam's Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has yet to detect an H5N8 case in the country. Still, the department has announced plans to increase testing for H5N8 as part the national avian influenza surveillance program in 2021. "Technically, the H5N8 virus shares antigenic characteristics of the H5N6 virus circulating in Vietnam,” the FAO quoted… Read full this story

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