Avian flu is spreading “efficiently” in ferrets, scientists have warned amid growing fears it could spark another pandemic.
Experts called the discovery “very worrying” and claimed it showed the pathogen was one step closer to spreading to humans.
It is the first known study to unequivocally confirm that mammals can not only infect the disease individually, but also transmit it to others.
However, deaths of infected mammals such as mink, foxes, raccoons and bears in recent months have shown that it is possible.
H5N1 – the strain of bird flu behind the current outbreak sweeping the world and believed to be the worst on record – is not easily transmitted between humans.
H5N1 – the avian flu strain behind the current outbreak sweeping the world – does not spread easily between people. But the research, currently being reviewed by the journal Nature, found that H5N1 “can cause fatal diseases in several mammalian species” and “direct contact” between ferrets “leads to fatal outcomes” (stock image).
But mutations in the virus that facilitate mammalian-to-mammalian transmission could change that, some experts fear.
To date, fewer than 900 human cases of H5N1 have been reported worldwide, killing nearly 50 percent of those affected.
The virus is usually picked up through close contact with an infected bird, dead or alive.
Now, new research, pending peer review, has found that H5N1 “can cause fatal diseases in several mammalian species.”
Canadian researchers, including some from state health agencies, infected ferrets with one of four H5N1 strains.
Ferrets were chosen for the study because they have a similar respiratory structure to humans and give experts an idea of how a virus would interact in humans.
They found that “direct contact” with an H5N1 strain isolated from an infected bird “resulted in fatal outcomes,” the paper added.
It suggests that the strain “evolved certain adaptations that allow for higher levels of replication, pathogenicity, and transmission.”
They warned that if such a tribe made the leap to humans, the consequences could be catastrophic.
“Since there is little to no H5-specific population-wide immunity, if an H5N1 isolate capable of sustained transmission were to jump a species into humans, it would likely represent a devastating infection in an immunologically naïve population.” , write.
John Fulton, a pharmaceutical industry consultant and founder of BioNiagara, told MailOnline H5N1 poses a threat “100 times worse than Covid”.
He added: “This discovery is of great concern and governments should take immediate action by seeking and mobilizing all manufacturing capacity with high potential for vaccines and therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of H5N1 avian influenza.”
Some nations, including China, have been vaccinating against the H5N1 strain for years.
Some nations, including China, have been vaccinating against the H5N1 strain for years. Birds are vaccinated either by injecting them into the egg or by spraying them on chicks while they are still in boxes
However, under UK health policy, vaccination of chickens is currently illegal. But the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Agency, a branch of DEFRA, is currently reviewing potential human vaccine candidates in the UK should the virus spread to humans. “The number of layers available to produce eggs for vaccine production is already at risk and is vulnerable to complete destruction of the egg-producing flock, leaving us with limited production capacity,” Mr Fulton said
Birds are vaccinated either by injecting them into the egg or by spraying them on chicks while they are still in boxes.
However, under UK health policy, vaccination of chickens is currently illegal.
But the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Agency, a branch of DEFRA, is currently reviewing potential human vaccine candidates in the UK should the virus spread to humans.
“The number of layers available to produce eggs for vaccine production is already at risk and is vulnerable to complete destruction of the egg-producing flock, leaving us with limited production capacity,” Mr Fulton said.
Vaccine makers GSK, Moderna and CSL Seqirus have begun developing new human vaccines to combat the fast-spreading strain of the virus.
Others like Sanofi have stocked generic vaccines against the H5N1 virus that could be adapted to the current strain currently circulating.
As with other forms of the flu, people can become infected if the virus gets in the eyes, nose, mouth, or is inhaled.
However, with avian flu, this usually occurs in people who spend a lot of time with infected creatures, e.g. B. bird keepers.
The beginning of 2023 has seen a spate of human bird flu cases.
Earlier this year, a Cambodian man and his daughter were diagnosed with H5N1.
Their cases sparked international concern, as many experts feared the infection was evidence the virus had mutated to better infect humans after it smashed through the world’s bird population.
Further testing revealed the Cambodian family did not have the H5N1 strain that was rapidly spreading among the world’s wild birds – but instead had a variant known to spread locally in the Prey Veng province where they lived .
There has been only one case of a UK person contracting H5N1 since the ongoing outbreak began in October 2021.
Alan Gosling, a retired engineer in Devon, caught the virus in early 2022 after his ducks, some of whom lived at his home, became infected.
The UK Health Safety Authority (UKHSA) has currently set the threat level at level three because there is “evidence” of changes in the virus genome that could trigger “mammalian infection”, it said.
Any “persistent” transmission of the pathogen from mammal to mammal would increase the threat level to four, while it would increase to five from human to human.
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