The virus of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 takes another step towards a possible pandemic. A study published urgently last Thursday in “Nature” provides evidence that avian influenza affecting dairy cattle in several US states is transmitted efficiently and sustainably among cows and also from cows to cats and a raccoon, an unprecedented event. same clade (2.3.4.4b) that caused the outbreak at Carral mink farm (A Coruña) in October 2022, and where transmission between mammals was verified. According to the authors of the study in “Nature”, their research demonstrates the ability of this strain of the virus to cross species barriers.

It is only a matter of time before we know if the next one will be human. So far, this avian virus, which emerged in 1996 in China and has wiped out millions of birds – above all – and mammals on almost all continents, it has been transmitted to About 900 people since 2003killing more than half, already 13 in the US this year, dairy workers who had mild symptoms, with conjunctivitis and a cold. But there is no evidence that the virus has adapted to be transmitted from person to person efficiently.

The UK Health Security Agency (HSA) on Thursday raised its risk assessment for H5N1 avian influenza genotype B3.13 in U.S. dairy cattle from 3 to 4 on a scale of 1 to 6. The HSA noted that “there is significant uncertainty regarding the trajectory of the outbreak and no apparent reduction in transmission in response to the biosecurity measures that have been introduced to date.”

US researchers confirmed cow-to-cow transmission when infected cows from Texas were moved to a farm with healthy cows in Ohio. The complete genome sequencing of the virus did not reveal any mutation that would imply greater transmissibility of H5N1 in humansalthough the data clearly show mammal-to-mammal transmission.

“The concern is that potential mutations may arise that could lead to adaptation to mammals, contagion to humans and possible efficient transmission between humans in the future,” says the first author of the research, the virologist Diego Diel, in a note from his academic institution, the prestigious Cornell University (New York State).

This concern is shared by European and Spanish scientists, such as the Salamanca veterinarian Oscar Sayagueswho has called for greater vigilance. “It has been confirmed that the avian flu virus has moved up another level and is successfully transmitted between cows. Is it just a matter of time before it is transmitted between humans? Well, time will tell, but the urgency of routine and active surveillance systems in livestock is clear,” he wrote on his X profile.

On the same social network, the veterinary virologist Elisa Perez-Ramireza researcher at the Animal Health Research Center (INIA-CISA), described this week “very worrying” situation in Coloradothe US state most affected by the outbreak in dairy cows. “In less than a month, 10 people have been identified as infected with H5N1 avian influenza (9 poultry farm workers and 1 dairy farm worker),” he said.

The Colorado Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, launched this week a “counter” of human cases of avian influenza that is updated twice a week. A collaboration that is a good example of the “one health” approach (environmental, animal and human) that scientists call for in these cases. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

Colorado this week became the first US state to require H5N1 testing on dairy farms. By mid-week, there were 172 cattle farms with outbreaks of H5N1 avian flu in the United States.

According to the American network CBSciting official sources, are in preparation around 4.8 million doses of flu vaccine for use in response to the US outbreak.

It may seem that the North American country is far away, but we must not forget that the deadliest flu pandemic that we have ever seen, the so-called “Spanish flu” of 1918 –which killed between 50 and 100 million people– originated in Kansas, USA. And at that time, means of transport –without commercial aviation– were light years away from today’s globalised society.

It’s a COVID ‘déjà vu’, its lessons are not being learned, US experts warn

“Déjà vu again: refusing to learn the lessons of COVID-19” is the title of the open letter signed by American experts in public health and law published last Wednesday in “The New England Journal of Medicine”one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the medical field in the world. Michael S. Sinha, Wendy E. Parmet y Gregg S. Gonsalves They warn that “with fewer tools at the public health community’s disposal, a new pandemic could spread even faster than COVID-19 (…) causing more deaths, even if the virus responsible is no more lethal than SARS-CoV-2.” The authors criticize the slow initial response of the US government, that the testing and surveillance problems that marred the COVID response are being repeated, and that some states have enacted laws prohibiting schools from requiring the use of masks. They warn that avian flu “could have higher mortality among young people than SARS-CoV-2as has been seen in multiple outbreaks,” and that closing schools to prevent it “could now meet with political, legal and popular resistance.”

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2024-07-28 09:52:19
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