Worries as avian flu virus breaches species barriers

ALTHOUGH THE OVERALL COUNT OF H5N1 HUMAN INFECTIONS IS LOW, THE STEADY DRIP OF HUMAN, ANIMAL DETECTIONS IS NOT A GOOD SIGN, SAY EXPERTS

- HT Correspondents

NEW DELHI: In the span of a month, H5N1 has killed three tigers and a leopard in India, 11 house cats in California, and forced a teenage girl in Canada onto life support.

The virus, which is better known as the avian influenza virus and is mostly prevalent in birds, spreading through dairy farms across America for much of 2024, appears to be breaching species barriers with increasing ease.

Although the overall number of human infections related to H5N1 has been low, the steady drip of human and animal detections is not a good sign, experts say. The virus has shown an unprecedented ability to jump between species, suggesting a pathogen testing the boundaries of its potential reach.