The likelihood that the virus may mutate to infect humans increases with the rate at which it spreads unchecked among mammals.
Unprecedented detail is provided by new study on the bird flu epidemics that are currently occurring on dairy farms regarding the virus’s rapid spread among cows and its subsequent transmission to other species, such as cats and raccoons.
It’s a sign that the virus is evolving, which worries researchers who study avian flu.
approximately the past few years, bird flu has impacted approximately 100 million wild aquatic birds, backyard poultry, and commercial flocks in the United States. Scientists are concerned that because of its proliferation, the virus may eventually change and transmit from person to person, starting the next global health crisis.
As far as experts are aware, no human-to-human transmission has taken place thus far. However, the overall number of cases among people is rising: On Thursday, Colorado state health officials verified three more cases of avian flu in humans, increasing the total number of cases nationwide to 14.
All but one of the human cases—which all involved farmworkers exposed to diseased animals—were identified during the previous four months. The three most recent illnesses are still poorly understood, while the others have only been moderate.
The virus is moving from one species of animal to another, according to a recent research. This is a relatively new phenomena that may be more difficult for authorities to regulate.
The researchers of the new study, which was published in the journal Nature on Tuesday, believe that the longer the virus is left unchecked, the more potential it has to grow and adapt and pose a threat to humans.
“Although the virus is not very effective in infecting humans and spreading among humans, that could change if the virus keeps spreading in dairy cows and from dairy cows into other mammalian species,” stated Diego Diel, one of the study’s authors and the head of the Virology Laboratory at Cornell University’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center. “It’s alarming.”
The current study sampled the cows and compared the genetic similarities of the virus amongst them in order to analyze the initial outbreaks of avian influenza among them at nine farms in Texas, current Mexico, Kansas, and Ohio.
The H5N1 form of avian flu, which the researchers discovered was the virus, spread quickly throughout farms. The virus was quickly identified in the Ohio cows when the sick Texas animals were relocated to a new farm. Furthermore, genetic sequencing indicates that the virus was contracted by cats and a raccoon, who presumably drank raw milk before passing away.
According to the study, sick cows started to consume less feed, ruminate less, produce less milk, and have discolored milk. Affected farms had twice as many cow deaths as usual.
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The finding, according to Andrew Bowman, an Ohio State University professor of veterinary preventive medicine who was not involved in the current study, mirrors the experience veterinarians have had on a large number of American farms.
According to Bowman, “it matches with the clinical picture.” “We have observed exactly that on dairy farms. This is only the initial authentic published record.
The findings supports the body of research showing that it is risky to handle or consume unpasteurized milk.
According to Diel, when a cow is infected, the virus is excreted via its mammary glands in astonishing quantities – at greater concentrations than can be readily grown in a lab.
Diel declared, “Drinking raw milk carries a very high risk.”
research have revealed that pasteurization renders commercially produced milk safe for ingestion, but other research have found live H5N1 virus in raw milk.
It is not the farmers’ responsibility to submit any milk that may be contaminated for processing.
Bowman stated, “Milk from sick cows shouldn’t be going into the milk supply.”
Bowman said he will be interested in finding out if cows may shed the virus before they become ill and whether the virus spreads from the mammals that get illnesses from cows as scientists continue to investigate the avian flu pandemic.
According to Anice Lowen, a virologist and professor at Emory University School of Medicine who was not involved in the current study, this is the third instance in which the virus has spread across a group of mammals very fast. The virus first appeared last summer and spread among sea lions, fur seals, and mink farms.
Severe cases have been reported in certain animals, and among other species, the virus has killed large numbers of seals and sea lions.
According to Lowen, health professionals should also take into account the possibility that this winter, people might have both the seasonal flu and H5N1. numerous influenza viruses can exchange genetic information with one another through a process known as reassortment when an individual is infected with numerous viruses.
This mechanism may allow viruses to change more quickly, changing the way they propagate.
Human risk from the virus that infects cows at the moment is minimal. Lowen stated, “The CDC has stated that, and they are correct. But, I believe that viral evolution is where the risk is. When they adjust to new hosts, they transform. When they swap genes and go through reassortment, they alter.
Regarding the recent study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chose not to comment.
