Bird flu scare: How deadly can the upcoming pandemic be for India as opposed to Covid? Doctors debate

New Delhi: Recently, during a briefing, a bird flu researcher stated that bird flu or the H5N1 virus is likely to result in a pandemic that could be ‘100 times worse than Covid’, and it is also likely to have a 50% death rate. These concerns were raised during a briefing where scientists spoke about the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Experts also said that the virus might reach the stage of being called a global epidemic. Researchers said that one must also be prepared for the same as the severity of cases can be way worse than COVID-19. But how severe is the same going to be in India?

How does bird flu affect humans?

In an interaction with News9Live, Dr Bhumesh Tyagi, General Physician at Sharda Hospital, spoke about bird flu and its possible effects on health.

“It is difficult to compare the severity of the COVID-19 and bird flu pandemics because the viruses involved are distinct and have different effects on human health. Both can do serious damage. Due to its high levels of human-to-human transmission, COVID-19 has spread quickly around the world. Although extremely contagious among birds, bird flu doesn’t usually spread effectively to people. When it occurs, though, it may result in serious sickness or even death,” said Dr Tyagi.

The expert went on to say that the death rate from COVID-19 varies greatly based on age, preexisting medical issues, and healthcare access. Human fatality rates from bird flu strains like H5N1 and H7N9 have been significant, occasionally surpassing 50%. This increases the possibility of avian flu being fatal for a single person.

The avian influenza virus primarily infects birds. There are various strains of avian influenza viruses, with H5N1 being one of the most well-known. These viruses primarily infect birds but can also infect humans under certain circumstances. Whereas COVID-19 is caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which primarily infects humans but can also infect animals under certain circumstances, Dr Tyayi explained.

How does bird flu spread?

Dr Tyagi explained that the primary mode of transmission for avian influenza to humans is direct or close contact with infected birds or their droppings. Human-to-human transmission is rare. COVID-19 primarily spreads through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. It can also spread by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus and then touching the face.

Dr. Shrey Srivastav, General Physician, at Sharda Hospital, on the other hand, spoke about the symptoms of other types of flu.

“The bird flu pandemic with the potential to be ‘100 times worse than COVID’ may be on the horizon after a rare human case was discovered in Texas, experts have warned, the New York Post reported on Thursday. Bird flu H5N1 and COVID-19, both are flu-like illnesses with many common and overlapping features. Symptoms are similar to those of other flus, including cough, body aches and fever, and breathlessness. Bird flu patients may develop encephalopathy (damage to the brain) and confusion. Covid patients often have diarrhoea and loss of sense of smell and taste. Bird flu H5N1 is much more virulent in humans as compared to COVID-19 but is fortunately rare among humans.” Covid Vaccination is not going to help in this,” said Dr Srivastav.

If a pandemic is triggered by the transmissibility of influenza (H5N1) from person to person, millions of people could die, and economies would likely be crippled for 6–24 months. In the event of a pandemic, vaccination against influenza (H5N1) could limit the impact of infection at a public health level.