Bird flu is spreading in the Netherlands: can it also jump to humans?

Bird flu is spreading to more and more provinces in the Netherlands: yesterday, the disease was detected at a zoo in Born, Limburg, and several infected animals had to be euthanized. What are the chances of bird flu spreading to humans? And how do you recognize it? Metro explains here.

Earlier this week, bird flu was confirmed in Emmeloord in the province of Flevoland, and just a few days later, it was also confirmed at Kasteelpark in Born, Limburg. All infected animals were immediately culled there by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). Earlier this fall, the virus was also detected in several locations in Gelderland.

As the name suggests, avian influenza occurs in almost all bird species. It's a disease that affects the respiratory tract, digestive system, and/or nervous system. There are several variants, namely highly pathogenic (very contagious) and low pathogenic (less contagious).

The highly pathogenic variant is fatal to animals. If an outbreak occurs among poultry, many birds become ill in a short time, because poultry are usually kept in close proximity. However, wild birds can also contract the highly contagious variant. The low-pathogenic variant causes birds to become ill only mildly or not at all.

Birds that contract the highly pathogenic variant become ill very quickly after infection, often within a few hours to three days. They often experience the following symptoms:

• They show very sluggish behavior;
• They don't make a sound anymore;
• Breathing problems;
• Diarrhea;
• Eye infections;
• Strange turning of the head;
• Sudden death.

The bird flu virus can spread to humans, but this is extremely rare. The chance of this happening is therefore low. It only occurs with close and frequent contact between infected animals (birds or mammals) and humans. With the virus variants currently circulating, the chance of humans becoming infected is very small. If they do become infected, they often experience little or no illness, and the symptoms are often the same as with regular flu, namely:

• Fever ;
• Headache;
• Muscle pain;
• Coughing;
• Sometimes an eye infection.

According to the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), the chance that someone with bird flu can infect others is "negligible." To prevent contracting the virus, it's important not to touch infected animals or dead birds. If you find a dead bird in nature, you should not remove it yourself. You can report the dead bird to the Dutch Wildlife Health Centre (DWHC) or to SOVON.

While you don't need to worry about becoming seriously ill from bird flu in the Netherlands, this is different abroad. In Asia, for example, there are strains of the bird flu virus that can make people very ill. They can develop severe pneumonia, shortness of breath, and even die from the flu.

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