On the heels of the primary individual in america to die from H5N1 avian flu after contracting it from contaminated birds, the Pan American Well being Group (PAHO) has launched a brand new interactive dashboard to trace and monitor H5N1 circumstances of avian flu in people. It additionally offers knowledge from the World Group for Animal Well being monitoring home and wild birds in addition to mammals all through the Americas.
Throughout 2024, there have been 66 confirmed circumstances of H5N1 inside people in america and one in Canada, and over 1300 outbreaks in animals throughout the Americas.
The PAHO dashboard additionally contains knowledge on the signs of the sufferers that contracted H5N1, when identified. The PAHO press launch explains that “this degree of element may also help public well being authorities be higher ready to detect and make knowledgeable, swift choices throughout an outbreak.” On the dashboard, you will additionally discover a timeline of main occasions associated to the unfold of H5N1 throughout the Americas, from 2020 by the current.
Based mostly in Washington, D.C. (with 27 places of work all through varied member international locations and three regional specialty facilities) and a part of the World Well being Group, the PAHO is the specialised worldwide well being company for the Americas, masking North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean. On its web site it explains that it really works within the area with its 35 Member States and 4 Affiliate Members to “enhance and defend individuals’s well being.” It additional states:
PAHO engages in technical cooperation with its member international locations to struggle communicable and noncommunicable ailments and their causes, to strengthen well being methods, and to reply to emergencies and disasters . . .
To advance these targets, PAHO promotes technical cooperation between international locations and works in partnership with ministries of well being and different authorities companies, civil society organizations, different worldwide companies, universities, social safety companies, group teams, and different companions. PAHO promotes the inclusion of well being in all public insurance policies and the engagement of all sectors in efforts to make sure that individuals stay longer, more healthy lives, with good well being as their most dear useful resource.
You’ll find the dashboard right here—it is undoubtedly price bookmarking as H5N1 continues to unfold.