The World Health Organisation, WHO, has called for vigilance after the recent detection of bird flu in mammals but tried to calm fears that large-scale human outbreaks could be looming.

The UN Health agency’s Chief Tedros Ghebreyesus told reporters that, “the recent spillover to mammals needs to be monitored closely.. For the moment, WHO assesses the risk to humans as low”.

Since late 2021, Europe has been gripped by its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu, with North and South America also experiencing severe outbreaks.

This has led to the culling of tens of millions of domestic poultry worldwide, many with the H5N1 strain of the virus. The global outbreak is also responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of wild birds.

The recent detection of the disease in a number of mammals, including foxes, otters, minks, sea lions, and even grizzly bears, has sparked growing concern that humans could be more at risk.

Tedros noted that since the virus first emerged in 1996, “We have only seen rare and non-sustained transmission of H5N1 to and between humans.”

But, he cautioned, “We cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo.”

Tedros called on countries to “strengthen surveillance in settings where humans, farmed or wild animals interact.”

“WHO is also continuing to engage with manufacturers to make sure that if needed, supplies of vaccines and antivirals would be available for global use,” he said.

Over the last two decades, there have been 868 confirmed H5N1 cases in humans with 457 deaths, according to the WHO. There were four confirmed human cases and one death last year.

Last month, Ecuador reported South America’s first case of the A(H5) bird flu virus in a human, a nine-year-old girl who was in contact with backyard poultry.

The girl’s condition was “improving,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters, saying so far, there was no indication that other people had been infected.

That reflects the usual pattern when people are infected, explained Sylvie Briand, WHO epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director.

“The transmission from animals to humans is rare, and when it infects humans, further transmission between humans is not easy, because the virus is not well-adapted to the human population,” she said.

But, she warned, “We need to be vigilant to make sure that spread in animals is contained.”

“The more the virus circulates in animals, the higher is the risk for humans as well,” she said, adding that this was “because the virus circulating in animals can evolve to forms that are more transmissible.”

AFP/Mercy Chukwudiebere

The Canadian government has pledged nearly C$200bn ($149bn) in funding over 10 years to aid the country’s ailing healthcare system.

The funding was pitched as a generational fix for the system in an announcement on Tuesday.

For months, Canada’s hospitals have grappled with a lack of staff and lengthy wait times for care.

A few reports have since emerged of patients dying while awaiting treatment.

Canada’s healthcare system is funded by the taxpayer to offer free, universal access to necessary hospital and doctor visits for all citizens and permanent residents.

It is paid for using a mix of federal and provincial money, but administered at the local level. Around 25% of funding is from the federal government through the Canada Health Transfer.

Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau made the funding pitch to Canada’s provincial premiers, who have repeatedly pushed him to increase federal spending on healthcare.

Mr Trudeau, however, had said ‘‘he would not increase funding without strings attached.”

Following a meeting with the premiers on Tuesday, Mr Trudeau said that his government is “taking action today so Canadians can continue to have trust in our public system.

“This is a big country, built on big progressive ideas…Few are more central to who we are as Canadians than the promise of universal, publicly funded healthcare.”

His proposal includes a total of $196.1bn to be spent on healthcare over the course of a decade – $46.2bn of which is new money on top of what has already been budgeted.

The total amounts to around a 61% increase in the Canada Health Transfer to provinces over the next 10 years.

It is less than what Canada’s premiers wanted – they had asked Mr Trudeau for an annual top-up of $28bn.

Manitoba’s premier, Heather Stefanson, said she was “disappointed” with the amount. Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, called it a “starting point.”

The premiers said they are now assessing the proposal.

Mr Trudeau said the money his government has put up is a “major investment in healthcare”, but he stressed that money alone would not fix the country’s faltering system.

He said he would also negotiate separate agreements with each province to address unique regional issues.

The government has also asked provinces for better healthcare data so they can assess the system’s performance better.

Healthcare has often been a point of pride in Canada, but, like many other countries, its system has grappled with mounting pressure since the Covid-19 pandemic, with growing wait times to access care.

In Nova Scotia, a 67-year-old woman had reportedly died after giving up on a seven-hour wait to see a doctor at a local hospital’s emergency department.

Patients have also been affected by a growing backlog for surgeries and diagnostic procedures.

According to World Bank data, Canada spends over 10% of its GDP on healthcare, about the same as the UK, compared with more than 16% for the US.

Its healthcare system ranks higher than the US, but lower than the UK and others in some international comparisons.

BBC/Mercy Chukwudiebere