Rospotrebnadzor says there is no threat of bird flu virus to Russia

The risk of spread in Russia of a new mutation of avian influenza, identified in the United States, is minimal. This was reported to journalists in Rospotrebnadzor on Saturday, December 28.

According to the agency, the mutation was detected in Louisiana in a patient with a severe course of bird flu. Analysis showed that the virus in humans is different from the virus found in poultry, indicating that it has changed since infection.

"At present, the risk of spread of this variant of the virus, which contains amino acid substitutions A134A/V, N182N/K, E186E/D, is minimal. There are no threats to spread in the territory of the Russian Federation," TASS reports.

It is specified that the bird flu virus found in the American state has mutations in hemagglutinin. A similar mutation is also found in Canada. They may increase the ability of the virus to bind to receptors in the human respiratory tract, but so far it is a small fraction of all circulating viruses, which are mostly "avian".

Earlier, on December 12, the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova said that the risk of bird flu passing to humans is an area of special attention in Russia and for the world expert community. She noted that test systems are being prepared for each new virus that creates pandemic potential. In addition, prototype vaccines have been developed in case of need.