Zoonotic Diseases
Avian influenza vaccine research to tackle evolving virus By Wolfgang Picot
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The IAEA’s help in equipping laboratories and training scientists in the use of nuclearderived techniques for quick diagnosis is critical. (Photo: Laura Gil Martinez / IAEA)
24 | IAEA Bulletin, September 2021
n the majority of cases, avian influenza affects birds the same way the flu affects people — some feel nothing, others develop mild symptoms, and, in some rarer cases, the infected die. Like the human flu virus, the avian influenza virus is constantly mutating and has evolved into many different strains. Some of these virus strains can be more infectious or deadly — causing what is known as highly pathogenic avian influenza — and some have the potential to be transmitted to humans. Monitoring a virus’s development and finding solutions to keep it under control is therefore a matter of public health. In 1996, an aggressive — highly pathogenic — variant of avian influenza virus known as H5N1 first appeared in China. By 2003,
it had developed into a global problem, and outbreaks around the world killed millions of chickens and led to billions of euros in damage, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Poultry industries worldwide suffered losses, and authorities everywhere hurried to impose control measures to limit the disease’s impact. Small-scale farmers and producers in East and South East Asia were especially hard hit. H5N1 avian influenza is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be transmitted to people in close contact with infected birds and make them sick. While the total number of transmissions has been relatively low, and sustained human-to-human transmission has not occurred, the consequences for most
