Close X
Monday, November 18, 2024
ADVT 
National

Build vaccine stockpile, use wastewater testing for H5N1 bird flu, experts urge

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Nov, 2024 01:04 PM
  • Build vaccine stockpile, use wastewater testing for H5N1 bird flu, experts urge

Health Canada has authorized three influenza vaccines that could be used if bird flu became a pandemic, the agency says. 

The federal government also has an agreement with vaccine manufacturer GSK for domestic vaccine production that could be accelerated if needed, the Public Health Agency of Canada told The Canadian Press in an email. 

There are no indications that H5N1 bird flu would spark a pandemic, but experts urged preparedness — including increased flu surveillance, early detection and vaccine availability. 

Last week, a B.C. teen was suspected of being the first person to get the virus in Canada and was critically ill in hospital as of Tuesday. It wasn't known how they were exposed. 

Human-to-human transmission of H5N1 — a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza — is rare with no evidence of sustained transmission, experts say. The majority of human cases in the United States and around the world have been due to contact with infected birds, farm animals or wildlife.

But the more people become infected by animals, the more opportunities the virus has to mutate and spread between humans, said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO).

"The longer a virus is able to get evolutionary experience with a particular host species, it's going to continue to adapt to being in that host," Rasmussen said.

"One of those adaptations would potentially be increased transmission and increased transmission efficiency."

Rasmussen said the Canadian government should build a stockpile of H5N1 influenza vaccines like the United States rather than rely on agreements with manufacturers to supply them on demand. 

Dr. Fahad Razak, an internal medicine specialist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, agreed, noting it would take three to six months to deploy an H5N1 vaccine under existing contracts. 

"In the event that you've had to rapidly start to protect people, the ramp-up period could just be too slow," said Razak, who was scientific director of a provincial advisory table during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said by email that it is not stockpiling H5N1 vaccines because "the shelf-life of the vaccines is only up to 2 years."

Razak countered that Canada doesn't need vaccine doses for the whole country. 

Keeping enough H5N1 vaccines on hand to immunize people at high risk because they come in contact with potentially infected birds and animals, such as agricultural workers, could be "a middle of the road approach," he said. 

Finland is already offering H5N1 vaccination "to individuals who have a high occupational risk of being exposed to avian flu," said Dr. Matthew Miller, the director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University in Hamilton. 

Miller said offering the shot to dairy workers, poultry workers or those who work with potentially infected wildlife to reduce their risk of exposure would also reduce the risk of a pandemic. 

”This is something that's being talked about in jurisdictions all over the world," said Miller.

When it comes to surveillance, PHAC said provincial and territorial public health agencies must report both "confirmed and probable" H5N1 cases within 24 hours. It said the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg can rapidly test and detect human cases for jurisdictions unable to test locally

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has also been testing milk for signs of H5N1 in dairy cows. There has not yet been any indication of the virus in Canadian cows, but bird flu has plagued many herds in the United States. 

Razak also called for wastewater testing —used during the COVID-19 pandemic — to scale back up for bird flu. 

British Columbia is actively looking for H5N1 in its wastewater, but Ontario halted its provincial wastewater testing program earlier this year.

PHAC does wastewater testing for seasonal flu in several cities and towns across the country, including Toronto. But it doesn't check specifically for H5N1 bird flu because it's "not possible to differentiate positive wastewater signals that are due to wildlife versus human or livestock sources," the agency told The Canadian Press in an email. 

That makes "it challenging to accurately interpret results to inform risk assessment and potential actions," it said.

Still, wastewater testing can be set up in targeted locations where the majority of waste comes from humans, Razak said. 

Shayan Sharif, a pathobiology professor at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, said wastewater testing is useful as an "early warning process" whether it detects animal or human virus. 

"At least have it as some sort of a screening system put in place in order to identify it as it happens in real time,” Sharif said, noting that once H5N1 is detected, health officials can investigate to determine where it's coming from.

MORE National ARTICLES

CBC paid over $18 million in bonuses in 2024 after it eliminated hundreds of jobs

CBC paid over $18 million in bonuses in 2024 after it eliminated hundreds of jobs
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. paid $18.4 million in bonuses this year after hundreds of jobs at the public broadcaster were eliminated. Documents obtained through access to information laws show CBC/Radio-Canada paid out bonuses to 1,194 employees for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

CBC paid over $18 million in bonuses in 2024 after it eliminated hundreds of jobs

Thrift store in B.C. closed after historical explosive device was dropped off

Thrift store in B.C. closed after historical explosive device was dropped off
Experts from the navy were dispatched to a Vancouver Island thrift store to deal with what police are calling a "historical military explosive device."  Mounties from the Sidney North Saanich detachment say employees from the store in Sidney, B.C., called them around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, reporting the device being dropped off there. 

Thrift store in B.C. closed after historical explosive device was dropped off

Cannabis oils and softgels recalled due to intoxicating ingredients: Heath Canada

Cannabis oils and softgels recalled due to intoxicating ingredients: Heath Canada
Health Canada has announced a recall of several cannabis oils and softgels because they may contain unexpected amounts of THC and HHC. The agency says both ingredients are intoxicants and could pose a danger to consumers. 

Cannabis oils and softgels recalled due to intoxicating ingredients: Heath Canada

Worker killed by two polar bears

Worker killed by two polar bears
A worker has died after being attacked by two polar bears off the eastern coast of Baffin Island in Nunavut. The Nasittuq Corporation says in a statement that employees responded to the attack Thursday at its work site on Brevoort Island.

Worker killed by two polar bears

Langley RCMP officer hit by vehicle

Langley RCMP officer hit by vehicle
Police in Langley say one of their officers has been taken to hospital after being struck by a vehicle whose driver fled the scene. RCMP say an officer was conducting traffic enforcement when the crash occurred on Friday.

Langley RCMP officer hit by vehicle

Stabbings at a Surrey party overnight

Stabbings at a Surrey party overnight
Police in Surrey are appealing for information after stabbings at a party overnight. Surrey R-C-M-P say officers responded to a report of a stabbing at a "large" party on Loughren Drive, a residential area near the Port Mann Bridge, at about 12:30 a-m.

Stabbings at a Surrey party overnight