A new strain of avian flu that has recently emerged in poultry farms in Southeast Asia has attracted the attention of the world’s health authorities who expect the virus to cause the next pandemic.

The H5N8 virus is a highly pathogenic avian influenza strain that has been identified to be capable of infecting a wide variety of bird species and has in recent times recorded limited human to human transmission in clusters.

The WHO has urged for the need to step up surveillance and put in place adequate precautions to counter this growing menace. Maria Van Kerkhove, a doctor, who has been the technical lead of the WHO’s COVID-19 effort said, We are still in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic but we cannot lose sight of other possible pandemics that may be lurking around the corner The new avian influenza strain has emerged and it needs collective action from people worldwide.

The H5N8 virus has been reported to have already affected the poultry business in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia among other countries through huge losses. More worrying however, are the emerging cases of human infection particularly the recent one which has displayed a high mortality rate than the previous avian flu epidemics.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, emphasized the urgency of the situation: ”We are dealing with a virus that could be the next pandemic influenza strain There is increasing evidence that this virus can infect different birds and the recent cases in humans are alarming.

Several countries have put in place strict bio security measures in the poultry industries and in the same regard, monitoring of wild birds has been intensified. Also, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has started on the process of creating candidate vaccine virus in case this virus becomes a threat.

Healthcare experts have called on governments to increase spending on pandemic preparedness with a focus on the early warning system, increasing the national surveillance systems and increasing the laboratory capacity in terms of detection and characterization of new virus.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, commented on the situation. The principles used in combating COVID 19 have to be followed in order to combat this potential threat there has to be increased surveillance, timely sharing of information and increased development of vaccines.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still in full force around the globe, the appearance of this new avian influenza strain brings a reminder of the constant danger of zoonotic diseases and a need to appreciate the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health – the One Health concept.