Close X
Friday, November 22, 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

Canadian Union of Postal Workers issues 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post

Canadian Union of Postal Workers issues 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers has given 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post. The notice is for both the union's urban bargaining unit and its rural and suburban unit.  In a release early Tuesday morning, the union says workers will be in a legal strike position as of Friday if negotiated settlements have not been reached.

Canadian Union of Postal Workers issues 72-hour strike notice to Canada Post

No jail time for woman involved in theft of money for school supplies

No jail time for woman involved in theft of money for school supplies
A woman who stole more than 14-thousand dollars meant for school supplies and programs including hot meals for vulnerable kids won't spend any time in jail. The recent provincial court decision says the woman was the treasurer of the South Rutland Elementary Parents Advisory Council (PAC) in Kelowna when she began stealing the funds in 2016, soon after her husband lost his job.

No jail time for woman involved in theft of money for school supplies

Surrey police transition deal still in works, less than three weeks before handover

Surrey police transition deal still in works, less than three weeks before handover
The exterior of police stations will soon look different in Surrey. New signs have been ordered to reflect a transfer of policing responsibility to the municipal Surrey Police Service from the RCMP, after six years of planning and political turmoil. 

Surrey police transition deal still in works, less than three weeks before handover

Highway 1 in Burnaby closed after early morning crash sends five to hospital

Highway 1 in Burnaby closed after early morning crash sends five to hospital
Mounties in Burnaby say westbound lanes of Highway 1 near the city have been shut after a multi-vehicle crash. They say just before 3 a.m., officers responded to reports of a five-car collision on the highway, just east of the Kensington Avenue off-ramp.

Highway 1 in Burnaby closed after early morning crash sends five to hospital

Rain, wind warnings issued along B.C. south coast

Rain, wind warnings issued along B.C. south coast
Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning along northern sections of east Vancouver Island, with downpours expected to begin this evening as a "vigorous Pacific frontal system" moves over the coast. It says steady rain will begin in the afternoon, intensifying in the evening and is expected to continue into Wednesday.

Rain, wind warnings issued along B.C. south coast

B.C.'s new cabinet to be sworn in Nov. 18 after this week's judicial recounts

B.C.'s new cabinet to be sworn in Nov. 18 after this week's judicial recounts
British Columbia's new cabinet is expected to be sworn in on Nov. 18, almost a month after the provincial election that gave Premier David Eby's New Democrats the slimmest of majorities, pending recounts.

B.C.'s new cabinet to be sworn in Nov. 18 after this week's judicial recounts