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Vaccine Hesitancy Raises Concerns for MSU Denver Biologist Amid Growing Number of Bird Flu Cases
Whether or not bird flu becomes the next major pandemic in humans is up for debate in the science community right now, as the H5N1 bird flu virus has appeared in more animals and a growing number of human cases have been reported.
So far, there have been no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, but assistant professor of biology at MSU Denver David Merriam told Denver7 this week that could change if H5N1 mutates. “The nature of the virus is such that if two flu strains mix in a single person, they can swap genetic information very easily,” Merriam said.
Merriam worries about people contracting H1N1, the primary flu virus, and H5N1 at the same time. Merriam also worries about increased vaccine hesitancy leading to more illnesses spreading.
Study Finds Strong Evidence That Bird Flu Spreads Through the Air Between Farms
In a recent study posted to the bioRxiv preprint* server, researchers provided genetic evidence suggesting the feasibility of windborne transmission of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus.
Although windborne transmission of avian influenza has been theorized, documented cases remain rare, and previous air-sampling studies have generally detected the virus only up to ~150 meters from infected farms. This study provides strong evidence supporting long-distance transmission, though it does not claim to definitively prove it.
Poultry farms represent significant air pollutant emitters. The pollutants vary in size, shape, and origin but generally comprise liquid droplets, gases, and inorganic and organic matter. During an HPAI outbreak, viral particles could be detected in the air and dust inside poultry markets or farms. While airborne transmission is the primary infection mode in poultry, contaminated air could contribute to disease transmission.
The study also underscores that mechanically ventilated poultry houses may increase exposure risk by drawing in contaminated air from the surroundings, potentially facilitating infection even at low viral concentrations.
Humans Might Already Have Some Immunity Against H5N1 Bird Flu
As global immunologists race to get ahead of bird flu there’s some good news from Australia where scientists have found that molecules on the inside of highly pathogenic influenza A H5N1 virus could be promising targets for human vaccines.
A new study found these proteins remain largely unchanged among different viruses, which suggests that vaccines could defend not only against H5N1, but other strains of influenza A too.
And, according to the paper’s lead author, Dr. Emma Grant from Australia’s La Trobe University, people exposed to the current strains of influenza circulating in humans may already have some level of immunity against H5N1.
Two People in US Hospitalized With Bird Flu, CDC Reports
Two people, in Wyoming and Ohio, have been hospitalized with H5N1 bird flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a routine flu update on Friday.
The person from Wyoming is still in hospital, while the Ohio patient has been released, according to the report. Both patients experienced “respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms,” the report said, without detailing those symptoms.
“This shows that H5N1 can be very severe and we should not assume that it will always be mild,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan.
The news comes amid one of the worst seasonal flu outbreaks in 15 years — raising the potential for the emergence of a more dangerous virus that combines bird flu and seasonal flu in a process called reassortment.
Alarm as Bird Flu Now ‘Endemic in Cows’ While Trump Cuts Staff and Funding
A newer variant of H5N1 bird flu has spilled over into dairy cows separately in Nevada and Arizona, prompting new theories about how the virus is spread and leading to questions about containing the ongoing outbreaks.
The news comes amid a purge of experts at federal agencies, including employees who were responding to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The additional spillovers are changing experts’ view of how rare introductions to herds may be — with implications for how to prevent such spread.
“It’s endemic in cows now. There is no way this is going to get contained” on its own, said Seema Lakdawala, an influenza virologist and co-director of the Center for Transmission of Airborne Pathogens at Emory School of Medicine.
Bird Flu Found in California Rats as USDA Scrambles to Rehire Scientists
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed H5N1 bird flu in four black rats in Riverside County, California, this week. The rats were discovered in late January near two recently affected poultry farms, marking the first detection of rats since 2021. Newsweek reached out to the USDA via email on Saturday for comment.
Black rats, typically found in urban environments, represent a new transmission risk because they can spread the virus through multiple pathways: droppings, urine, blood, and saliva. Their mobility between farms and residential areas could accelerate the virus’s spread to both humans and their pets.
Additionally, the USDA said last week that it mistakenly fired officials involved in the federal response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak. In a statement sent to Newsweek, the agency said it is working “swiftly” to reverse the dismissals.
Steps to Halt the Spread of Bird Flu and ‘Prevent a Human Epidemic’
As bird flu continues to circulate among wild birds and domestic livestock, public health officials are increasingly concerned about the potential for the virus to become transmissible among humans and potentially cause an epidemic. So far, humans have only contracted bird flu from contact with infected animals and cannot pass the virus to other humans.
In a recent commentary published in Nature Medicine, Tulane University virologist Bob Garry outlined the steps he sees as essential to preventing H5N1 from developing human-to-human transmission — and what strategies should be employed if the virus is able to evolve into a greater threat.
We need to take bird flu seriously. Preventing the virus from adapting to develop human-to-human transmission is the biggest priority to prevent a human epidemic. If the bird flu did turn into a human-transmissible virus, that would potentially make the COVID-19 pandemic look like a walk in the park, and even the low rate of severe disease we’ve seen so far would be enough to cause a crisis. But there are concrete steps we can take to be better prepared.
