(NewsSpace.com) – The avian flu, known as the “bird flu,” has been around for more than 100 years. During that time, it has posed a threat to fowl, which farmers regularly culled to keep it from spreading. However, in recent times, the disease has been spreading from birds to other mammals, including dairy cows, cats, and even a raccoon. A recent study highlights the potential of a “sustained” spread and what it could mean for the US.
Study Looks Into “Spillover”
According to a publication in Nature detailing the “[s]pillover of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus to dairy cattle,” the avian flu is responsible for the deaths of millions of domestic and thousands of wild birds dating back to January 2022. During that time frame, there have been several incidences of spillovers or the mammal-to-mammal transmission of the virus from birds to other species.
Dairy cows have been hard hit and symptoms of infection include eating less, respiratory distress, and a decrease in milk production, where abnormal milk is produced. The virus was detected in the liquid. The study also found that infected cows transmitted the disease to healthy cows when they were placed in a population with them in a different state. However, according to lead author, Deigo Diel, who is an associate professor of virology at Cornell University, while genome sequencing hasn’t revealed any mutations that make it more transmissible to humans, the data does show that it is adapting in mammals, which is a cause for concern.
Can Bird Flu Transfer to Humans?
There have been documented cases of humans infected with bird flu. In the United States, the CDC noted that since 2022, 14 people have contracted the virus; 13 of those cases have presented since April 2024. Ten of those diagnoses took place in Colorado, which is now home to the largest outbreak of the disease in US history. However, the CDC states that available data suggests the risk of transmission between humans remains low, but the situation is continually monitored. Should there be a genetic change to the virus that allows for such transmission, there’s “potential to cause severe, widespread disease.”
In other parts of the world, there have been hundreds of cases, including a significant number of fatalities. From 2003 to 2009, there were 468 cases and 282 fatalities. The majority of infections and deaths took place in Indonesia. From 2010 to 2014, there were 233 documented cases and 125 deaths. Then, from 2015 to 2019, 160 cases led to 48 people dying. Egypt was the top country for infections and deaths during those latter two time periods.
Increased testing is a necessity to properly “neutralize its spread,” and should be carried out on “animals on farms, people in clinics, and populations of people through wastewater,” per Anthony Maresso, a Baylor College of Medicine professor. The US Department of Agriculture has been proactive, funding testing programs for free.
Copyright 2024, NewsSpace.com
