“Environmental disaster of the first degree”: the number of cases of bird flu is increasing alarmingly

Millions of animals have already died or had to be slaughtered as a result of bird flu infection. The cases occur worldwide and also affect species that were previously spared. Experts are alarmed.

Around New Year’s Eve, a dead mute swan was found in Kleinandelfingen ZH. He became as the first wild bird since mid-October tested positive for a highly pathogenic variant of bird flu (HPAI), which is why the canton of Zurich is now taking measures.

The Veterinary Office of the Canton of Zurich has therefore set up a facility in consultation with the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (BLV). Control and observation area A.

Within a radius of three kilometers around the location in Oerlingerried (municipality of Kleinandelfingen), poultry farmers must ensure that no contact between farmed poultry and wild birds comes. A hygiene lock is also mandatory and the number of people on location must be limited to what is strictly necessary. The animals may also not be moved to another location.

If farm animals such as chickens or turkeys become ill, this can happen big losses in stock – and contribute to the further spread of the virus.

A few days ago, researchers discovered the bird flu virus for the first time in a dead polar bear in northern Alaska. It goes on It is unclear how many bears are infected with the deadly virus. Alaska’s state veterinarian said:

In the US alone, cases have been found in foxes, a lynx, a skunk and a raccoon, and even in bears, mountain lions, seals and a dolphin, as CNN reports. In short, as is known 17 non-avian species infected in the United States. Scientists assume that all these sick mammals were infected with the virus when they ate or otherwise interacted with infected birds.

So far there is no danger to people, although some deaths have already occurred. Since 1997, nearly 900 people have been confirmed infected with H5N1 bird flu. Nearly half of these people died from it.

Until now you could still do it no human-to-human transmission prove; People who became infected with H5N1 did so via close contact with birds. Infected people usually experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches. Sometimes conjunctivitis occurs. Some affected people have difficulty breathing or suffer from pneumonia.

The other variant of bird flu, which also led to multiple infections in humans – H7N9 – has been laboratory confirmed in 1,568 cases to date, 616 of which have been fatal.

Among mammals, minks and sea lions have been the most infected to date; they have different receptors and a different immune system than humans. The chance that we will become infected by it is quite small.

According to experts, it would be more dangerous if pigs could become infected with each other. Their immune system is much more similar to that of humans.

Since 2006, four major outbreaks of the pathogen from the H5 virus group have occurred. The latter is still ongoing and is caused by a variant of the bird flu subtype H5N1. In addition to numerous seabirds, mammals also died. This includes not only wild animals, but also zoo and farm animals: in North America and Europe, in southern Africa, in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Pacific Ocean and in South America.

Since late 2023, thousands of dead animals have been found on South America’s Pacific coast, including pelicans and penguins, as well as sea otters, seals and other marine mammals. First there were cases in Peru, later also in Chile.

The situation in Antarctica is dramatic. A marine biologist from the environmental protection organization Pro Wildlife finds clear words:

Diana Bell, emeritus professor of conservation biology at the University of East Anglia, England, told the Guardian that the bird flu situation was “horrific.” She further says:

Researchers have long warned that the virus could cause mass extinctions in penguin colonies. There are even warnings of one of the greatest ecological catastrophes of modern times.

With material from watson.de and the news agencies SDA and DPA