Professor Alexander Gintsburg, Director of the Gamaleya Research Institute (the famous Russian COVID-19 Sputnik V vaccine developer), has just issued a shocking warning: avian influenza H5N1 is spreading to cats and could become a deadly threat to humans.
Just one or two more strains for the H5N1 virus to be transmitted from person to person through the air, Gintsburg told Izvestia. "And at that time, compared to it, seasonal diseases were just a child's play".
Professor Gintsburg emphasized that if the H5N1 virus develops to transmit through the respiratory tract between humans, the world could face an unprecedented terrible pandemic in modern history.
The current mortality rate for this virus strain is up to 50-70%. If there is a possibility of air transmission, the consequences will be unpredictable" - the Professor noted.
He called for urgent vaccine development before it is too late. However, Russia and many other countries have not yet had a large-scale H5N1 vaccine production program ready to deal with the worst case scenario.
Meanwhile, a new study from the University of Maryland (USA) in early May surprised the health community: more than 600 cases of avian influenza in domestic cats were recorded in 18 countries, with a mortality rate of over 50%.
More worryingly, many cases of infection in cats live completely indoors, without contact with birds or raw food, suggesting that the virus may have spread through unknown routes.
According to the research team, cats can be infected with H5N1 by eating infected birds, raw poultry products, or unpasteurized milk from animals infected with the virus. However, cases of "unknown source of infection" are warning bells about the risk of the virus having overcome species barriers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that from 2003 to present, there have been 974 cases of H5N1 infection in humans confirmed in 24 countries, with 470 deaths. Most of the cases are related to direct or indirect contact with infected poultry. However, H5N1 has not yet recorded sustainable human-to-person transmission - a key factor in assessing the risk of the pandemic.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the risk to the community is still low, but also warned that the H5N1 virus needs to be closely monitored because of its ability to continue to evolve and the high mortality rate.
The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown that the world cannot ignore viruses that can "jump species". The fact that H5N1 is spreading to cats - a popular pet in millions of families - is a sign that the virus is getting closer to humans.
A vaccine prototype needs to be mass-produced within 3-4 weeks if an outbreak occurs, says Professor Gintsburg. But right now, we still have nothing in hand.
