Thousands of Scots who work with cattle and pigs are being urged to get a flu vaccine - in a bid to protect the rest of the country from a devastating new strain of the virus.
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who → work → virus
Health experts are worried the different types of flu which infect animals and humans could merge, creating a mutant virus that could cause severe illness and even potentially spark another pandemic.
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that → worry → pandemic
This could happen, they fear, if someone who is in regular contact with livestock is simultaneously infected with human and animal flu - and unwittingly becomes the mixing vessel for a dangerous new form of the disease.
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who → happen → disease
In an unprecedented attempt to stop this happening, Scotland’s legion of farmers and farm workers, vets, inspectors, animal transport drivers and abattoir staff are all, for the first time, being asked to get a flu jab.
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legion → stop → jab
Leaflets published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) explain that mass vaccination of animal workers will ‘reduce the risk of a new type of flu virus being made.’
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vaccination → publish → virus
The leaflets warn: ‘If someone has bird flu and human flu at the same time, the viruses could mix in their body and create a new type of flu virus.
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viruses → warn → virus
A new flu virus produced in this way could spread very easily and cause serious illness, because people would not have immunity to it.’
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people → produce → it
Health authorities are now contacting farming and veterinary groups to try and encourage animal workers - and also anyone in the poultry business - to sign up for a free vaccine.
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authorities → contact → vaccine
Unlike other groups - such as the elderly or people with compromised immune systems - the animal workers are not being offered the vaccine simply to benefit their own health, but also as a precautionary measure to protect the health of society as a whole.
Farmer workers are being urged to get a flu vaccine in a bid to prevent a new strain of the virus
Flu is a highly-contagious respiratory illness which can be fatal in people with a compromised immune system
The same precautionary principle was used during the Covid pandemic, where everyone was urged to get the vaccine, not just to stop themselves falling ill, but also to halt the spread of coronavirus through the entire population.
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themselves → offer → population
Dr Claire Cameron, a consultant in health protection with PHS, explained: ‘We know that flu viruses change and mutate all the time - and that these changes can lead to increased flu activity and pandemics.
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changes → explain → activity
‘What we don’t want is for people working in close contact with live animals to be infected with animal and human flu at the same time.
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people → want → time
That could create a new and unusual virus and cause a far wider problem.’
She added: ‘We have prepared leaflets about the vaccine for people working with poultry, swine, and cattle, and are liaising with stakeholders to make sure those people are aware of the recommendation.
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people → create → recommendation
Flu is a common and highly-contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs.
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that → cause → nose
People with a healthy immune system can usually beat the virus in a number of days - but for babies, the elderly or for people with compromised immunity, infection can cause serious complications like pneumonia and can even be fatal.
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infection → beat → pneumonia
As the flu virus is transmitted around the world it can mutate significantly.
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it → transmit → world
Historically, the most deadly outbreaks have involved novel variants of the virus which the human immune system has not encountered before and which are harder for the body to fight.
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body → involve → which
Dr Claire Cameron, of Public Health Scotland
Every year, experts assess which forms of flu are most likely to be in circulation and try to tailor an effective vaccine which is then offered for free on the NHS to prevent the most vulnerable people either from catching the flu or becoming seriously unwell.
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which → assess → flu
At the same time, there are many variants of the influenza virus which usually only affect animals, for example swine flu among pigs and avian flu among birds.
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which → be → birds
Occasionally these varieties can jump species and infect individual humans - but cannot typically then spread from one person to another, meaning they have a limited impact.
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they → jump → impact
However the concern is that a mutant flu combining elements of the human and animal virus would prove disastrous.
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flu → combine → virus
And capable of spreading easily from person to person, it would be highly contagious.
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it → spread → person
The most recent surveillance report by the World Health Organisation, published earlier this month, said high levels of swine flu and avian flu were being detected in birds, cattle and other animals.
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levels → publish → birds
Over the past month, several people in China and Cambodia fell ill after catching avian flu, while one woman in Brazil died after contracting swine flu.
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woman → fall → flu
The report said: ‘At present, these viruses are not thought to be capable of sustained human-to-human transmission, although this could change as they evolve.’
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they → say → transmission
Dr Cameron said: ‘The flu vaccine is this year being offered to people working on farms with cattle or swine, vets, people who are moving, handling, or transporting livestock, who work in slaughterhouses.
‘
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who → say → slaughterhouses
It’s also being offered to people who work with or regularly visit poultry units or processing units or who cull or handle live, unwell, birds.
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who → offer → birds
‘The possibility of them becoming infected with animal and human flu at the same time and of creating a new virus is a small theoretical risk - but one we would very much want to avoid.’
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we → infect → virus
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