Influenza

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning regarding the spread of bird flu (H5N1) to various species, including humans, expressing deep concern over its impact and potential consequences, according to reports from AFP.

The World Health Organization voiced alarm Thursday at the growing spread of H5N1 bird flu to new species, including humans, who face an "extraordinarily high" mortality rate.

"This remains I think an enormous concern," the U.N. health agency's chief scientist Jeremy Farrar told reporters in Geneva.

Given that humans do not have immune defenses against bird flu viruses the emergence of a virus capable of infecting & spreading rapidly among the population poses the risk of a pandemic

The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) issued a stark warning regarding the looming threat of a large-scale bird flu pandemic, underscoring the potential consequences if the virus were to transition to humans and establish human-to-human transmission.

Deaths from flu and covid rose to 48 last week, the National Public Health Organization (EODY) reported on Thursday, with an average age of 85.

Of the deceased, 40 were infected with Covid-19, while eight were infected with flu.

Professor Todor Kantardzhiev summarized on BNT that the flu wave has passed, there will be more cases, but they will decrease with each passing week. In the regions of Dobrich, Stara Zagora, and Haskovo, there has been a slight increase in cases over the past week, but the flu is decreasing in all other regions.

All Covid-19 indicators are showing a decrease, while influenza remains at high levels, the Hellenic National Public Health Organization (EODY) reported on Thursday. 

According to the latest epidemiological report from EODY, there have been nine new severe cases of influenza requiring ICU hospitalization and three new deaths recorded in the past week.

In a press release today, Svetla Angelova, the director of the Regional Health Inspection (RHI) in Dobrich, sounded the alarm as an influenza epidemic officially blankets the region from February 5-12.

Amid a rapid escalation in flu cases, numerous regions in Bulgaria are grappling with a growing epidemic, prompting authorities to implement decisive measures to contain its spread. The surging number of flu incidents has resulted in the suspension of classes in various areas, impacting students and educational institutions alike.

It has long been known by scientists that many bacteria and viruses cause illnesses by first attaching themselves to sugar molecules on the cell surfaces lining mammals' sinuses and throats, including humans. For example, viral particles can cling to these molecules--also known as sialic acids, or SAs--in a manner similar to that of keys inserted into locks.