As bird flu swoops across media outlets, UBC researchers are working to better understand and monitor the disease.
Avian flu or bird flu refers to a disease caused by a virus that primarily infects birds but has also been detected in humans and other mammals. According to The New England Journal of Medicine, there has only been one recorded human case of infection with the highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) strain of bird flu in Canada as of November 2024, and the risk to the general public remains low. However, research committed to understanding how this virus operates can help us be better prepared for the future.
“It becomes more and more important ... that we continue advancing our tools and the knowledge around how this virus is mutating so that we can respond effectively when we need to,” said Dr. Shannon Russell, UBC clinical assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and senior scientist at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) Public Health Laboratory.
According to Russell, one concern with bird flu isn’t necessarily its current risk to the population, but its potential for undergoing genetic exchanges called “reassortments.” Most recorded human infections of bird flu have been mild. However, if someone is infected with bird flu and a seasonal flu at the same time, there’s a risk they can exchange genes to make a new, potentially more dangerous virus.
“The worry with poultry farm workers is that somebody who has seasonal influenza comes in contact with an avian influenza strain, and they’re like the perfect mixing vessel for this ultimate new flu virus,” she said.
Russell explained that while seasonal flu viruses are very adapted to humans, avian influenza viruses are not. This means that there’s potential for a certain combination of genes to be exchanged and create a new virus that is adapted for human-human transmission, but our bodies have no baseline immunity for.
“So I think that’s really the biggest concern, [that] we don’t really know what to expect, because of the way that the genome can reassort so easily,” said Russell.
Russell conducts genomic surveillance research out of the BCCDC in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The goal of their research — aptly named the “BIRD WATCH” project — is to monitor how the avian flu virus is mutating in the wild bird population, as well as poultry and mammals. Other projects in the UBC Faculty of Medicine include added efforts dedicated to surveillance, antibody testing and livestock monitoring.
This collaborative approach to research focuses on how bird flu impacts and moves through our community as a whole, including humans, animals and the greater environment. According to the BCCDC, the ultimate goal is to “create a cloud-based data platform for sharing genomic information from H5N1 viruses found in birds and poultry between public health and animal health partners.”
Currently, the federal government is taking measures to ensure that Canada is adequately preparing a response to the bird flu, including purchasing 500,000 doses of an avian influenza vaccine to protect the most vulnerable, and investing in collaborative research aimed at preventing and preparing for avian flu outbreaks.
While researchers commit to better understanding bird flu, Russell emphasized that currently the risk for Canadians remains low. She explained that most cases of bird flu manifest as mild symptoms, such as conjunctivitis, with only a few cases becoming more serious.
“I think it can be sensationalized,” she said. “The challenge is trying to understand when ... that risk level increases based on the possibility of human to human transmission. But, regardless of that, the risk is low.”
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