H5N1 spread in mammals

DJ, 

H5N1 did mutate...however that mutation resulted in easier spread from infected bird/animal to mammals NOT -so far- between mammals !

(For that matter the BBC-story [url]https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64474594[/url] or https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64474594 has good info !)

-It is good there is now more testing for H5N1 in wild animals ...however a-symptomatic spread may miss part of such spread.

-There have been "gain-of-function" studies (a.o. in NL-Rotterdam EMC)...so it may be possible to see what risks new mutations in H5N1 (in mammals)  may bring...

-Maybe it would be a good idea to test human samples (in store) to detect H5N1 a/pre-symptomatic spread. 

If you have to deal with risks it may be wiser to get to know those risks then to deny them....

Given the very high number of H5N1 cases in birds....tens of millions worldwide...there had to be more cases of mammals catching H5N1...So the detected mutation in H5N1 resulting in more bird-mammal spread 9still) may be minor...Most of mammal H5N1 cases could be explained by the very high number of birds with H5N1 (being eaten/bird droppings) by mammals...

There are lots of steps that can be taken to reduce risks...From keeping cats indoors, dogs "under control" -report dead birds-"hot-line" to increase testing/sequencing (also some ad random testing to detect a/pre-symptomatic spread...). Problem however is "denialism of risks/economy only"....repeating the mistakes made at the start of CoViD spreading...running behind the facts...

[url]https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2023/01/articles/animals/cats/h5n1-avian-influenza-in-a-cat-france/[/url] or https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2023/01/articles/animals/cats/h5n1-avian-influenza-in-a-cat-france/ ;

As the current (and unprecedented) H5N1 avian flu outbreak continues, there’s the ongoing threat of transmission to other species. The extent of spread to mammals is hard to say since it’s hard to know how many wild mammals have been infected.

DJ...one can make calculations, realistic estimates...

However, we know that an impressive range of species has been infected. Spread to mammals is a concern because the more widely this virus spreads, the greater the chance for recombination with other flu viruses to create a “new” strain that could cause serious problems in humans or other species.

A recent news report and the corresponding WOAH report are light on details but describe H5N1 infection in a domestic cat in France from late 2022.

The cat lived on a duck farm and was euthanized after developing severe neurological disease. That’s a clinical presentation that’s not been uncommon in mammals that have been infected with H5N1 influenza during this outbreak. That doesn’t mean this virus usually causes neurological disease. It might be a matter of animals with neurological disease simply being more likely to be noticed and/or tested. H5N1 avian influenza infection was confirmed, and the virus recovered from the cat had “genetic characteristics of adaptation to mammals.”

DJ There was earlier reporting on H5N1 in Spanish minks-did that show (the same) mutations ? 

DJ...case-case-cluster-cluster-boom...Lots of isolated cases in mammals may signal we are -still- in the "case-phase" (minks as exception...) but do we test  (some) rats, mice etc for H5N1 ? Just to check ? 

See also [url]https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2023/01/articles/animals/other-animals/avian-influenza-in-mink-should-we-care/[/url] or https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2023/01/articles/animals/other-animals/avian-influenza-in-mink-should-we-care/ 

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/internet-communication/avian-flu-diary/968188-peru-sernanp-reports-at-least-585-sea-lions-50-000-birds-killed-by-avian-flu[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/internet-communication/avian-flu-diary/968188-peru-sernanp-reports-at-least-585-sea-lions-50-000-birds-killed-by-avian-flu ;

Yesterday, in SENASA: Peru Confirms H5N1 In 3 Sea Lions and A Dolphin, we saw the official announcement that 3 dead sea lions, recovered last November, had died from the avian flu virus. What that statement did not tell us, is that hundreds more have died since then, presumably also from H5N1.

The current USDA report (see below) on H5N1 infected mammals (n=110) is almost certainly an undercount, as are reports from other countries.

Yesterday, Peru's custodial agency for protected natural areas - SERNANP - released the following (translated) statement citing nearly 600 sea lion deaths, and the deaths of tens of thousands of birds. Again, this is almost certainly an undercount, as many birds and mammals die unseen in remote or inaccessible areas.

There are also reports that a lion has died from H5N1 at a zoo in central Peru. Sadly, lions, tigers, and other captive large cats have a 20-year history of being infected with avian flu (see here, here, and here) since they are often fed raw chicken.

While none of this guarantees that H5N1 is on a trajectory to becoming a pandemic threat, it's far from being a reassuring sign that it won't.

https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/...t-585-sea.html

DJ...more spread in animals means more "reassortment" mixing with other virusses. 

Here's an article in which the WHO tells people they must prepare for H5N1 since it's made the jump to mammals. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11727769/Risk-humans-H5N1-bird-flu-remains-low-prepare-WHO.html

Hey everyone.  Obviously, we need to keep a close watch on this one, but i am not exactly sure how to do that and get accurate data.  Since the WHO is saying to watch this, I have to believe some things we don't know about are already happening.  Is there anyone particular on twitter or even on this site that is over seas or that will get information before other people do that we can all be following?  If so, please list out their twitter handles or youtube pages or whatever.  When Albert used to run this site, I felt like I would always be the first to know because he had so many connections......I just want it to be the same way now!

The WHO....

They don't work for the betterment of constituents, that's for sure. Unelected officials kowtowing to rulers. Glorified yes men. So anything they say must be viewed with suspicion. I suspect they are arse covering atm. Possibly H5N1 is worse than reported.

I've been reading about minks spreading the virus to other minks. This is very problematic.  Minks share viruses with humans frequently. For example they shared Covid which mutated in the minks and was given back to humans. I remember reading about a group of scientists preferring minks for medical testing. This was a while back there was some reason why they were better than rats and mice. 

https://www.dmoose.com/blogs/latest-news/bird-flu-outbreak-puts-mink-farms-back-in-the-spotlight

While writing this, I just read the article above dated the 9th Feb. They said that H5N1 had an outbreak in a mink farm, October 2022 in Spain. 

Quote:   "The mink farm outbreak was particularly concerning because it appeared to spread from mink to mink, and the virus contained a mutation that may indicate adaptation to mammals"

This was in October. Why is the WHO reporting this four months later?  Something has happened. Suspicious

I might spend the weekend stocking up on toilet paper.. Gotta go

tern

@1goodtern

·

Feb 8

Waiting for the WHO to announce that birds aren't airborne.

-

From [url]https://twitter.com/RajlabN[/url] or https://twitter.com/RajlabN ;H5N1 in US mammals

[url]https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/raj.rajnarayanan/viz/HPAIMammalsUSA2022-2023/Dashboard1[/url] or https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/raj.rajnarayanan/viz/HPAIMammalsUSA2022-2023/Dashboard1 

In most cases it will be H5N1 in (US) birds...(though birds do not carry passports...) at [url]https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/raj.rajnarayanan/viz/HPAIWildBirdsUSA2022-2023/Dashboard1[/url] or https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/raj.rajnarayanan/viz/HPAIWildBirdsUSA2022-2023/Dashboard1 

[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/south-america/h5n1-tracking-ab/peru-aa/964078-peru-h5n1-in-poultry-and-mammals?view=stream[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/south-america/h5n1-tracking-ab/peru-aa/964078-peru-h5n1-in-poultry-and-mammals?view=stream ;

Translation Google

Avian flu: for the first time there has been a massive contagion from birds to mammals in Latin America

By Yvette Sierra Praeli on February 20, 2023

So far, more than 600 sea lions and more than 55,000 birds killed by the H5N1 virus have been registered in protected areas of Peru.

The presence of the virus dates back to the 1990s when it was found in places of poultry production. After 2020, a change in the dynamics of the virus occurred and it began to be detected more frequently in wild species.


First it was the seabirds that appeared dead on the coast of Peru due to the presence of the H5N1 virus or bird flu , but then the disease spread to mammals, particularly sea lions.

In Latin America, for the first time the jump of this virus from birds to mammals has been recorded in a massive way , indicate the scientists who are following the trail of this epidemic unleashed on almost the entire planet. "It is the first report in Latin America of contagion of avian influenza in many mammals at the same time, since until now the impact in Latin American countries had only been in birds, or some isolated case of a mammal," says Víctor Gamarra-Toledo. , researcher at the Natural History Museum (MUSA) of the National University of San Agustín de Arequipa.

Gamarra-Toledo explains that reports of contagion from birds to mammals had occurred in European countries such as Russia and Spain —in the latter country an outbreak of H5N1 in mink on a fur farm has recently been reported—, as well as in North America, but never It had previously been reported in Latin American countries. "The situation seems to be complicated because the virus could be adapting quite well."

Figures from the National Service for Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp) indicate that more than 600 sea lions and 55,000 sea birds have been killed by the bird flu virus. However, these numbers correspond only to what is reported within protected areas.

The first cases of birds in Peru occurred in early November 2022. A few weeks after the first reports, on November 30, the National Agrarian Health Service (Senasa) declared a health emergency throughout the country for a period of 90 days.

During the period that the health emergency lasts, Senasa prohibited the movement of live domestic birds from places where the virus has been detected, the transfer of birds without a health certificate granted by this institution and the development of fairs or rooster events throughout the country. country, among other complementary measures.

The advance of bird flu

“The first report of massive death of birds, which was later confirmed to be due to avian flu, was between November 12 and 13, when Agrorural warned us of this mortality on Lobos de Tierra island, in the north, which is part of the Guaneras Islands, Islets and Points System National Reserve (RNSIIPG). At that moment we activated the health alert in coordination with Senasa”, says Deyvis Huamán, Director of Management of Sernanp Protected Natural Areas.

Huamán explains that the massive death affected, in a first wave, pelicans ( Pelicanus thagus ) and then continued with boobies ( Sula variegata ), until a third wave reached sea lions. “We have recorded dead birds in eight protected areas and wolves in 7 protected areas,” he adds.

The Sernanp official specified that until February 9 there was a record of 634 sea lions and 55,246 dead seabirds . The official indicates that this number must be greater than what was recorded because the measurements are not made every day or in the entire extension of the protected areas. What Huamán does specify is that the number of animals that die under normal circumstances is only between 10% and 20% of what is now being recorded with bird flu.

“It's a fairly aggressive subtype that obviously causes us concern. It started in birds, now it is in sea lions, and there is even a dolphin that, according to what we have been informed, has tested positive for avian flu", comments Huamán, therefore, he adds, it is important to avoid approaching animals that seem sick or have died because of the risk that the virus could be transmitted to people.

Huamán also shows his concern for what these massive deaths of species mean for conservation. In the case of pelicans, for example, the official says that many of those who have died in northern Peru were nesting . "There are at least two thousand abandoned nests," he says, but adds that pelican mortality is declining, so it is hoped that, in protected areas, as there is no intervention from human activities, these populations can recover. .

“What caught our attention the most were the Peruvian coastal seabirds, particularly the pelicans, because this virus killed about 20% of the known pelican population within protected areas. In four weeks, a very important part of the pelican population was lost, which is catastrophic for the species and its ecosystem," says Sergio Lambertucci, director of the Conservation Biology Research Group at the Biodiversity and Environment Research Institute (Inibioma). -Conicet), from the National University of Comahue. "20% mortality is a very high percentage for birds that live a long time and don't have a very high reproductive rate."

Lambertucci points out that the virus has also killed many boobies and guano birds in general, which means "a threat to the conservation of certain species" at least in this part of the planet. The most affected are usually waterfowl, including seabirds —continues Lambertucci—, including ducks, but there may be cases for many other species of birds. "In fact, at this moment we are doing a survey (inventory) of all the species of birds that have been affected by avian influenza on a global scale, which includes other groups such as scavengers, which feed on dead animals, and hunters. ", Add. The expert comments that for the moment there is no massive mortality, but cases have been reported among vultures, vultures and eagles.

Overcrowding of animals for food

The presence of this virus among animals is not recent, but dates back to the 1990s, when the virus was found in poultry production sites in Asian countries and then spread to other continents. Veterinarian Pablo Plaza, a researcher at the Biodiversity and Environment Research Institute (Inibioma-Conicet), explains that in recent years, after 2020, a change occurred in the dynamics of the virus and it began to be detected more frequently in wild species. .

“It is a virus mainly adapted to reproduce in birds, but in very close contact it can pass to mammals and even to humans, which is why poultry farm employees, and those who are in close contact with infected birds and other animals, are people who may be at risk,” adds Plaza.

For Plaza, it is important to analyze the behavior of the virus and its adaptation that it has had in the transmission to the sea lion, "because as the virus changes, a further step will be taken so that the risk of it being transmitted between beings arises. humans".

The vet also explains that it is a highly pathogenic virus —that is, highly contagious— that causes alterations in the lungs and even in the nervous system, therefore, animals infected with H5N1 die with signs of neurological and respiratory.

Until now, what was known about this virus is that it is not transmitted from individual to individual among mammals, and also that infections to humans are not frequent. However, transmission between European mink on a farm in Spain has recently been suggested. Gamarra-Toledo points out that from 2003 to 2021 only 850 cases of the H5N1 virus in humans have been reported, but the lethality has been 50%. "The lethality is worrisome."

Among the cases of animals that have died in Peru from bird flu is also a lioness at the Huancayo zoo in Junín. “This case occurred on January 23 and was confirmed because eagles that tested positive for bird flu died. And in Ecuador, a girl has been infected with the virus who had to be hospitalized.

Some migratory birds can carry the virus, therefore, the epidemic that began in Asia, continued through Europe and then to North America, now extends to the rest of the American continent. However, the origin of this problem is in poultry, Lambertucci mentions; that is, it is in the production systems of the animals that serve as food for people. “They can be chickens, geese, ducks, in general, many animals that are raised together and under stressful conditions, when the virus arrives it becomes the perfect cocktail for an epidemic to be generated. And if they are in areas where there are wild birds that can interact, such as a wetland or a lagoon, these individuals can be infected.

DJ [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_booby[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_booby (just to make clear "boobies" is a Peru type of birds...

Both H5N1 and CoViD seems to be a growing problem in mammals...(as far as I know CoViD in birds is limited-but it started in bats..."so it has wings"...). 

H5N1 spread via insects...[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/h5n1-avian-flu-news-unknown-to-many,-studies-have-shown-that-h5n1-bird-flu-virus-can-be-transmitted-by-houseflies,-mosquitoes-and-other-insects[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/h5n1-avian-flu-news-unknown-to-many,-studies-have-shown-that-h5n1-bird-flu-virus-can-be-transmitted-by-houseflies,-mosquitoes-and-other-insects 

[url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/h5n1-avian-flu[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/h5n1-avian-flu has lots of info...

Can H5N1 mix with CoViD (both RNA virus) ? TMN may not be the best source...it provides links...

roni 3470,

 TMN also speculated on [url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/h5n1-avian-flu-news-researchers-are-concerned-that-a-lethal-reassortant-strain-involving-sars-cov-2-and-h5n1-avian-flu-virus-is-likely-to-emerge-soon[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/h5n1-avian-flu-news-researchers-are-concerned-that-a-lethal-reassortant-strain-involving-sars-cov-2-and-h5n1-avian-flu-virus-is-likely-to-emerge-soon recombination of H5N1 and CoViD (both [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative-strand_RNA_virus[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative-strand_RNA_virus). 

The "animal kingdom of virusses" however is maybe even larger-partly unknown-then the "animal kingdom" we know....

new mink-spread related mutations in CoViD recombinations was NOT supposed to be very likely (It was believed to be contained....but lots of countries still have mink-fur farms...). 

[url]https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/02/usda-update-on-h5n1-in-mammalian.html[/url] or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/02/usda-update-on-h5n1-in-mammalian.html ;

Since their last update 3 weeks ago, the USDA has added 10 additional mammalian infections with H5N1, with the bulk of those (n=7) coming from Colorado (note: only 9 shown in the list below).  Species include bobcat (n=2), red fox (n=2 ), mountain lion (n=3 ), skunk (n=1) and American Black bear (n=2).

With the lone exception of a single infected Bottlenose Dolphin in Florida, all of the reports of mammalian infection have come from the northern tier of states.

While the full extent of H5N1's impact on wildlife is unknown, we are likely seeing only the tip of the iceberg.  

So far, unlike with SARS-CoV-2 in deer, we haven't seen signs of H5N1 transmitting efficiently in mammalian wildlife (possible, but unproven exceptions are in marine mammals). But once again, surveillance is extremely limited. 

For more on the risks from avian flu spilling over into wildlife, you may wish to revisit:

WOAH: Statement on Avian Influenza and Mammals

DJ...my view...You do not need human-to-human spread to end up in a "major H5N1" crisis. If insects, mammals can spread H5N1 we still could see a very high number of human H5N1 cases...the virus keeps mutating more with more cases...

Good overview of where we are now; [url]https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/h5n1-news-european-centre-for-disease-prevention-and-control-ecdc-reports-worrisome-mutations-spotted-on-circulating-h5n1-avian-flu-virus[/url] or https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/h5n1-news-european-centre-for-disease-prevention-and-control-ecdc-reports-worrisome-mutations-spotted-on-circulating-h5n1-avian-flu-virus 

In short most spread to mammals (still) from infected birds. However there seem to be some mammal to mammal spread in minks, sea-lions. DJ Lots of cases in mammals may go undetected, co-infections can create new variants. 

Several mutations in mammal H5N1-virusses were detected. In general risk for spread of H5N1 in humans still is seen as low-poultry farm workers need better protection, more testing etc...

[url]https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/03/british-columbia-press-release.html[/url] or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/03/british-columbia-press-release.html ;

Over the past few days we've looked at two separate studies on the spillover of HPAI H5N1 to mammals -  one from Canada on Friday, and one today from the U.S. - that between them reported on more than 100 infected terrestrial mammals. 

Although the number of mammals (terrestrial & marine) confirmed to have been infected globally is somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,000, it is highly likely we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. 

Today the B.C. government announced the identification of 8 more peridomestic mammals - in this case skunks from residential areas of Richmond and Vancouver - infected with HPAI H5. 

[url]https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/03/paho-updated-epidemiological-alert-on.html[/url] or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/03/paho-updated-epidemiological-alert-on.html ;

With 16 countries (see chart below) in the Americas now reporting HPAI H5 either in wild birds, poultry, or mammals, the virus has already become remarkably well-entrenched across much of the Western Hemisphere.  

DJ...general picture; H5N1 (and limited other H5 variants) is spreading from birds into mammals...over time it will result in variants that spread between mammals and are of HIGH risk for humans...

We need better surveilance, testing, sequencing to detect what sort of mutations show up where....Reality most likely is funding for these kind of studies is decreasing due to inflation and insane wars...