Bird flu: Lateral flow tests could return to UK in outbreaks fear

An 11-year-old girl from Cambodia died last week after contracting avian flu strain H5N1

Avian flu has been found at 145 premises in England (Getty Images)

Health officials in the UK could deploy lateral flow tests to be used if signs emerge that avian flu is spreading between people.

The programme would share rapid information about dangers associated with the disease.

An 11-year-old girl from Cambodia died last week after contracting H5N1, a flu strain that’s being spread around the globe by birds migrating and then passing it to native poultry.

Officials are trying to work out whether it was an infected bird that passed the flu on to the young girl, or if it was spread through human contact.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says last week it found cases of bird flu in 145 premises and 656 wild birds in England, which is a rise of 15 new premises and 209 cases since December 2022.

The UKHSA says it’s also currently working on blood tests with the aim of finding antibodies to the virus.

Experts are analysing bird flu’s genetic mutations to find out more about the increased risk to human health.

Evidence so far suggests that the H5N1 flu doesn’t spread easily between people, but scientists are also urging caution as more research into this is conducted.

Dr Meera Chand, incident director for avian influenza at UKHSA told The Guardian: “Viruses constantly evolve, and we remain vigilant for any evidence of changing risk to the population.”

According to Professor Ian Brown from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), there have been more than 850 cases in humans around the world since 1996. There is a high case- fatality rate.

Professor Brown added that almost all of the cases have not resulted in human - human transmission, but he said “vigilance” is still needed.

Even though the risk of infection is low, experts are warning people to avoid contact and stay away if they find any sick or dead wild birds in public areas.

People are also advised to wash their hands after feeding wild birds.

People have been warned to stay away from sick or dead wild birds and wash their hands if they feed wild birds (PA) (PA Wire)

As well as the rise in the number of birds and premises affected by bird flu, the UKHSA found cases in wild mammals.

14 out of the 134 wild mammals collected since October 2021 were found to have avian flu, including four foxes in England and one in Wales.

In Scotland, four otters, four seals and one fox all had it.

It is believed the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918, which killed approximately 50 million people, was first caused by a transmission of an avian flu virus to humans.

Director of the Centre for Virus Research at Glasgow University, Professor Massimo Palmarini, said the initial strain adapted and then became endemic in humans, which in turn sparked the seasonal flu virus.

Professor Palmarini added that this is the reason it’s important to be aware of bird flu cases in humans and prevent it spreading and mutating as quickly as possible.

The 11-year-old girl who died in Cambodia was the country’s first known case of H5N1 virus infection since 2014, health minister Mam Bunheng said on Thursday.

The girl from the rural Prey Veng province fell ill and was sent to a hospital in the capital Phnom Penh on 16 February. She was diagnosed with bird flu after suffering a fever of up to 102C with cough and throat pain.

She died shortly after last Wednesday, the health ministry said in a statement.

The girl’s father also tested positive and 11 others have been tested for the flu.

The Cambodian health authorities collected samples of dead birds from near the girl’s village and urged people not to handle dead or sick animals and birds.