The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Avian flu risk still ‘low’ after first US patient dies – WHO
A day after the United States reported its first human death from avian flu, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) insisted that the risk to the general population remains “low”.
WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the H5N1 virus causing the disease is “not circulating in humans, but jumping into humans who are exposed” to poultry or dairy cattle.
“We’re not seeing sustained circulation,” she insisted.
The patient who died of the disease in Louisiana was over 65 and reportedly had underlying medical conditions, Dr. Harris said. According to the health authorities he had been exposed to chickens and wild birds. Several dozen people in the US have contracted avian influenza during the current outbreak, mainly farmworkers in close contact with poultry flocks and cattle herds.
Dr. Harris stressed that WHO’s assessment of the risk to the general population “is still low and remains set”. The main concern is for those who work in animal industries, who need to be better protected.
The WHO spokesperson added that the United States was continuing to carry out “a lot of surveillance” in the human and animal population, “in the methods we use for farming, for our food production…all those things need to be combined because indeed it always does pose a risk”.
Meanwhile, a respiratory virus gaining ground in China, known as the human metapneumovirus, or hMPV, has been sparking media attention in recent weeks, but it does not represent a new or major threat, Dr. Harris insisted.
The UN health agency spokesperson said that such infections are on the rise in China “as expected during winter”, with seasonal influenza being “by far the most common among them”, as reported by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“China’s reported levels of respiratory infections are within the usual range for the winter season,” Dr. Harris explained. “Authorities report that hospital utilization is currently lower than this time last year, and there have been no emergency declarations or responses triggered,” she added.
As for hMPV, it was first identified in 2001 and “has been in the human population for a long time”, Dr. Harris clarified.
She added that it is a common virus that circulates in winter and spring and usually “causes respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold”. Like any of the hundreds of common cold viruses known to exist, it can lead to more serious disease in patients with low immunity, particularly but not limited to newborns and the elderly.
Asked about hMPV’s mortality rate, Dr. Harris described it as “very, very low”. It is not a pathogen that normally leads to deaths in humans, save for the most vulnerable, she concluded, recommending “simple” prevention measures, such as wearing a mask, improving ventilation of closed spaces and handwashing.
-Ends-
STORY: Virus update WHO 07 January 2025
TRT: 1:53”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 7 JANUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Exterior wide shot: Palais des Nations, Flag Alley.
2. Wide lateral shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference from rear; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “It’s not circulating in humans, but it is jumping into humans who are exposed, particularly those exposed to poultry or to the dairy cattle, the two, sort of, groups where we’re seeing most of the movement from animal to human, but we’re not seeing sustained circulation.”
4. Medium shot: Journalists in the Press room.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “It very much has to be looked at in the animal population and in the methods we use for farming, for our food production. All those things need to be combined, because indeed, it always does pose a risk. As you know, our risk assessment is still low and it remains set.”
6. Wide lateral shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference from rear; speaker on screens.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “China’s reported levels of respiratory infections are within the normal range, it’s what we expect to see for the winter season. Authorities report that hospital utilization is currently actually lower than usual, is currently lower than this time last year, and there have been no emergency declarations – this is really important - there have been no emergency declarations.”
8. Wide lateral shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference from rear; speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “It is not a new virus. It was first identified in 2001, it’s been in the human population for a long time. It is a common virus that circulates in winter and spring. It usually causes respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold.”
10. Medium shot: Journalists in the Press room.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “The case mortality is very, very low. The only group in which you would see mortality are the really, really vulnerable, and you would normally see pneumonia, you would see the more severe respiratory infections.”
12. Various shots of journalists in the Press room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office today published a report detailing how death, injury and lasting family separation are among the traumatic events that have upended the lives of Ukraine’s children in the three years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , IFRC
Israel’s renewed bombing campaign and intensifying ground operation in Gaza are reversing gains achieved during the brief ceasefire, UN humanitarians said on Friday from inside the devastated enclave.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
The Human Rights Council on Wednesday heard gruesome testimony of torture, rape and execution of Ukrainian detainees and soldiers by Russian forces, as a high-level independent probe delivered its latest mandated report in Geneva.
2
23
1
1
Edited News , Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
Cyprus talks result in trust-building measures, show ‘new atmosphere’ among divided island’s leaders, says UN’s Guterres
UN-led efforts to kick-start talks on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have resulted in agreements on new trust-building measures and also underscored the positive “new atmosphere” surrounding the discussions, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
1
62
1
2
Edited News , Images | UNITED NATIONS , UNOG
Fresh talks over the future of Cyprus continued on Tuesday as representatives of the divided Mediterranean island gathered at the UN in Geneva along with guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom at the request of UN chief António Guterres.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG , WFP
The Government of Israel has ramped up settlement of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, transferring its own population into the territory and unlawfully demolishing Palestinian homes. At the same time settler violence has increased with continued impunity, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Following last night’s Israeli strikes in Gaza, Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following comment at the bi-weekly news briefing in Geneva: “Weare horrified by last night’s Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy.”
1
9
1
1
Edited News | WMO
Glaciers in many regions will not survive the 21st century if they keep melting at the current rate, potentially jeopardizing hundreds of millions of people living downstream, UN climate experts said on Friday, the first World Day for Glaciers.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
The Iranian Government has continued to ramp up efforts to restrict the rights of civilians including young children as part of a concerted effort to crush dissent, investigators mandated by the Human Rights Council insisted on Friday.
2
1
1
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Senior human rights investigators reporting to the Human Rights Council alleged on Thursday that sexual and gender-based violence by Israeli security forces against Palestinian men, women and children have been increasingly used “as a method of war” following the 7 October 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Bangladesh: Humanitarians describe ‘extreme desperation’ as aid cuts deepen Rohingya children’s suffering
In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee settlements, child malnutrition has surged and cuts in aid funding risk creating a humanitarian “catastrophe”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday gave an update on the situation in Syria’s coastal region as reports continue to emerge of the distressing scale of violence there since 6 March.