Scientists are studying mutations in bird flu virus to determine if it could pose a threat to humans. The virus is spreading among cattle and one dairy worker, prompting researchers to analyze the data and understand the spillover. The risk to humans depends on the virus's ability to evolve and infect mammals more effectively.
With diary cows getting bird flu , researchers are trying to figure out what mutations could make the virus a threat to humans.
The samples collected from infected animals and shared publicly do not suggest the virus has undergone radical changes that would be cause for alarm. And it would need to become better at transmitting through the air, like the seasonal influenza viruses that humans tend to catch. Currently most cases of bird flu in people are linked to direct contact with an infected animal, oftentime when a chicken is being slaughtered, says David Swayne, a poultry veterinarian who used to work for the USDA.
Lowen says previous research has shown the protein on the virus would not only need to recognize the human receptors in our upper airways but also become more stable, presumably so it doesn't fall apart during transmission through the air. Experiments done in labs offer some clues. They have shown mammals can pass on this version of H5N1, and even offer some preliminary evidence suggesting limited airborne transmission., scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed how an isolate of the virus taken from a severe human case in Chile spread among ferrets.
They also found evidence the virus had spread through the air between ferrets in different cages, but they didn't see severe illness in the animals who were infected in this way. It's possible there wasn't enough virus being transmitted to"overcome the immune barriers that would prevent infection," he says.
Bird Flu Mutations Dairy Cows Virus Threat Humans Spillover Respiratory Illness Cattle Transmission Milking Concentration Research
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