The World Health Organization (WHO) issued emergency alerts on Wednesday and Thursday regarding two influenza outbreaks.
of first warning It was issued after a laboratory confirmed human infection of the H1N1 virus originating from pigs in the Brazilian state of Paraná. The patient, who had underlying health conditions and had no history of exposure to pigs, was the eighth case of H1N1 infection detected in Brazil since 2014, and the first since the start of 2024.
The WHO considers this H1N1 infection to be “sporadic,” but says there are “virological, epidemiological, and He emphasized the importance of global surveillance to detect clinical changes and timely sharing of the virus for risk assessment. ”
World Health Organization: First human death due to H3N8 avian influenza virus |@DailyCaller https://t.co/GAx8Icvqpv
— Kay Smythe (@KaySmythe) April 12, 2023
of second alarm Following a report from the Cambodian National Focus (NFP) of the WHO's International Health Regulations (IHR) Secretariat, two cases of avian H5N1 infection have been confirmed. Both cases originated from Kampung Trabek district in Cambodia. Both patients are said to have been exposed to sick poultry, but no link between the two cases has been determined at this time.
Cases of H5N1 poultry-to-human transmission appeared to disappear from Cambodia in 2014, but it resurfaced in 2023, with six cases reported, WHO noted. H5N1 is the more severe of the two influenza subtypes, but both patients recovered from their infections. (Related: 2023 won't get any weirder, it turns out your favorite bird of paradise might wipe out humanity)
In July 2023, the United Nations and WHO issued a joint statement on the ongoing evolution of H5N1 and the risk of it jumping into humanity. The disease first appeared in China's Guangdong region in 1996 and has now become a global pandemic.
