WHO monitoring H5N1 virus in mammals

The World Health Organization (WHO) is monitoring the evolution of the H5N1 virus in various species including mammals after it was linked to the death of nine domestic cats across Poland.

Dr. Sylvie Briand, director of WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, said the international public health organization is working with its partner agencies to conduct the global monitoring of the highly-contagious H5N1 virus.

“We have networks of laboratories, other human-animal interfaces sharing information on the virus and monitoring the evolution of this virus across different species,” Briand told reporters in a media briefing.

“It means that we are collecting those viruses, doing genomic sequencing on some of them, and also comparing the results of the analysis of the virus with the epidemiological information. Because what is very important with the H5N1 infection is to see how much it affects different animal populations as well,” she added.

Briand also said the WHO had secured seeded H5N1 virus which can be used for vaccine development should there be a need for anti-avian flu vaccination.

“We will review these viruses in the next vaccine composition in September and we'll see if there's a need to update those seed viruses in the coming months,” the WHO official said.

“For the time being, the evolution we've seen is not so different from what we've seen previously. And it doesn't deserve yet to change the virus that we have put in the library of virus for potential vaccine production but we are concerned about the situation and monitoring it very carefully,” she added.—Sundy Locus/LDF, GMA Integrated News