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May 3, 2022 1:00 a.m.
Updated at 9:17 a.m.
People fear the spread of avian flu in humans
JEAN-FRANCOIS GUILLET
The Voice of the East
Although very rare, the transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza, of the H5N1 subtype, to humans is a concern in Lac-Brome. For its part, the Public Health of Estrie assures that the disease did not make any victim in the country, in addition to birds.
Étienne Beaulieu, a citizen living nearly a kilometer from the Ducks of Brome Lake site, hard hit by avian flu, was very ill just a few days ago. To the point where he had to be kept under observation at the Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins hospital in Cowansville.
“At first I thought I had COVID, but that wasn't it. And it wasn't [seasonal] influenza either. I was told that I was given the same antiviral as the duck farm workers. And I recovered quickly. It raises questions,” he argues.
Another resident of Lac-Brome, who preferred that her identity be kept secret, is of the same opinion. “If you walk around Knowlton, you see several dead wild turkeys near the streams. And for a while, we see people doing water tests near there. It happens [very early in the morning], when there is no one on the street. Do they have something to hide? Is there a risk that the water will be contaminated?” she wonders.
Absences
The lady also wonders about a high number of young people absent at Knowlton Academy, which her son attends.
Verification made, the primary school had a few more pupils absent in the days following the Easter holiday, about fifty out of the approximately 250 pupils, but this number “is not worrying” and has continued to decrease. since then, says Éric Campbell, Secretary General of the Eastern Townships School Board.
“It would be very risky to make a link with avian flu, he adds. Parents take necessary precautions when their children are sick and that's fine."
As for the Saint-Édouard French-language primary school, it is noted that absences were very limited.
According to Dr. Geneviève Petit, public health specialist at the CIUSSS de l'Estrie, several types of outbreaks have been listed in Estrie: COVID, gastroenteritis and seasonal influenza. Normally, the highest number of flu cases occurs especially in winter. This year, this type of infection therefore occurs in a “staggered” way.
The CIUSSS representative confirms that Public Health “has been in contact” with the Knowlton Academy. “And there was no worrying situation (…) The presence of respiratory symptoms or gastroenteritis is not exclusive to Lac-Brome. It circulates in several regions in Estrie.”
Point
The mayor of Lac-Brome, Richard Burcombe, believes that the cases of avian flu in the region do not compromise the health of the population. “People are making scenarios and it caught on like fire in a field of hay, he says. It is unfounded. People think bird flu will spread everywhere. It's ridiculous."
Dr. Geneviève Petit wanted to set the record straight on this subject. “Avian influenza, much like we saw with COVID, has several profile characteristics that make the virus more contagious and more transmissible to humans. This is not the case with the form currently circulating in birds [Eurasian strain]. And it is especially not transmissible [among] humans.”
According to the specialist, the contamination of water by dead birds infected with avian flu is not an issue.
Public Health, however, remains on the alert. “What concerns us more are people who are in high-risk contexts,” says Dr. Petit. Like people who work in the poultry industry, in indoor settings.”
Symptoms include fever combined with cough or difficulty breathing. In Estrie, people suspected of having contracted H5N1 are sent to the emergency room. If necessary, specific tests must be carried out. The samples taken would then be sent to the Quebec public health laboratory for analysis.
With regard to antiviral drugs, they were initially administered as a preventive measure to people in close contact with infected birds. “Now the recommendations are getting a bit more specific. We are more in early treatment if the disease is confirmed [in humans]”, specifies the representative of the CIUSSS.
A case of H5N1 flu in humans has already been detected in England, according to Dr. Petit. A case would also be under investigation in the United States, mentions the specialist. A case of avian influenza has also been reported in China in a child, with the H3N8 strain, in recent days, reports La Presse .
Mutation
The risks of H5N1 mutating so that it becomes transmissible between humans are not zero. “The fear is that a person has both avian influenza and human influenza. We know that influenza viruses are very good at recombining. All it takes is for an avian influenza virus to bind to a human influenza virus and take over its ability to transmit itself for human-to-human transmission to become a reality", explains Dr Caroline Quach, specialist in Infectious diseases.
“This is one of the theoretical fears. That's why the health network intervenes with people at high risk of exposure,” says Dr. Petit.
And what does it take for a strain of avian influenza to recombine with a strain of human influenza? “For human and avian influenza strains to recombine, two viruses must be present at the same time in the same host… and a bit of bad luck!, argues Dr. Quach. The greater the number of contacts between the two viruses [more co-infected individuals], the greater the statistical risk of recombination increases. Hence the importance of getting vaccinated against seasonal flu, so as not to allow the two viruses to be present at the same time in the same individual.
With the collaboration of Pascal Faucher
https://www.lesoleil.com/2022/05/03...chez-lhumain-22d8c0d31f4013e2b9ecca71b3c1a815
