Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI A H5N1) outbreak in Spain: its mitigation through the One Health approach – a short communication

Abstract

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI A H5N1) has occurred over the past few years, especially during the 1918–1919 Spanish Flu pandemic, which wiped out many people in the world. It caused acute illness in about 25–30% of the world’s population, which led to the deaths of up to an estimated 40 million people. Of recent, public health authorities in Spain reported the detection of avian influenza A in two poultry workers on a single farm, following an outbreak in poultry confirmed on 20 September which was likely to be due to exposure to infected poultry or contaminated environments and poor interprofessional collaborations among the Spanish health workers. This is a public health challenge for the Spanish government and the world at large. Thus, we believed that through the One Health approach in Spain, there would be a stop to and prevention of further spread of the recent outbreak of avian influenza A in Spain, as well as other infectious diseases and future outbreaks in the country and the world at large.

The recommendations and the way forward to fight human infections caused by influenza A (H1N1) in Brazil

“…The H1N1 flu is transmitted like other kinds of flu [ 4 , 15 ]. People transmit the disease to each other by sneezing, by spreading droplets of virus-infected saliva into the surrounding air [ 1 ].…”

“…Currently, despite advances in medicine, there is no vaccine against influenza A(H1N1) virus infection in humans [ 4 , 15 ]. Vaccines against seasonal influenza and against human influenza viruses are generally not intended to protect humans against influenza viruses that are carried by swine, but sometimes they can reduce the likelihood of contracting both the human influenza and influenza virus variants [ 13 , 15 ]. For this reason, the prevention of the flu remains the simplest and is essentially based on frequent hand washing (avoiding touching your eyes, mouth or nose when your hands are not clean) [ 15 , 16 ].…”

Naegleria fowleri, yet again in Pakistan; What should we do about it?

“…The first recorded case of Naegleria fowleri in Pakistan was in 2008, and throughout recent years, is prompting serious concern in the Pakistani population [ 3 ]. Karachi recorded 13 occurrences in 2011, with an extra fatal case in 2014 [ 5 ]. More recently, another case of PAM was reported in Karachi's Kemari district on May 2nd, 2022, involving a 59-year-old man.…”

“…4 Additionally, three other cases of Naegleria fowleri have been reported in Pakistan in 2023 – all of which were based in Karachi. PAM has only been observed in Muslims in all reported cases in Pakistan [ 5 ]. While only two cases were linked to recreational water activities, such as swimming, kayaking, canoeing, etc., 9 the vast majority of cases were not.…”

“…‘One Health’ approach which is an interdisciplinary and multi-professional relationship between human health, animal health, and their shared environment has been helpful in the eradication of diseases like COVID-19, Monkeypox, cholera, etc. [ 5 ] Therefore, it is imperative that the Pakistani health authorities follow necessary steps to implement the aforementioned method as a public health policy, through which, physicians, veterinarians, and nutritionists in Pakistan could work together in mitigating the spread and re-occurrence of N. fowleri in Pakistan. This approach could be successful by breaking the chain of transmission from the vector to the individuals by developing awareness and continuously promoting healthy habits such as advocating for good food hygiene practices in the household, disinfecting any contaminated water, clearing any stagnant water, cutting down bushes, etc.…”