The Avian Flu Outbreak Taking Place in U.S. Jeans Under Strict Surveillance

2024/04/11 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna
• Mikrobiologia
• Zoologia

Researchers and leaders are closely monitoring outbreaks of avian influenza in jeans. In fact, the virus (HPAI) A(H5N1) is spreading for the first time in cattle and has already spread to all six cows in the United States. They report infection of a person and confirm that the risk of infection by humans is low.

According to Nature, researchers try to clarify the contamination chain. It also looks for the most appropriate vaccines and antiviral drugs and updates rapid diagnostic tests in people.

Since 2021, avian influenza has spread throughout the world, reaching even mammals that contaminate polar bears. Closer, the appearances in the vison nurseries have raised concerns, such as those in Galicia, where Eurosurveillance warned that the vison nurseries allow the virus to mutate and that the human being has a greater capacity to become infected.

In cattle they find some cow infected. However, so far there have been no outbreaks in the cowboys and, in addition, a worker of one of them has been infected, according to the CDC, US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Therefore, preventive measures have been tightened: not approaching dead or infected animals without protection; not consuming raw milk or products made with it…

Meanwhile, they have not yet clarified whether the avian influenza virus has been transmated below the cow and how. Science has suggested that the virus has not been transmitted by cow to cow air, but by tools contaminated by milk. In fact, no evidence has been found in samples taken from infected cows that the virus is being replicated, except in udder.

In addition to reinforcing preventive measures, managers recommend monitoring cowboys and other nurseries outside the US to prevent outbreaks. It is particularly concerned about the spread of pigs, which present many variants of influenza A; if infected with the current variant of avian influenza, it could mix viruses and create variants that endanger humans and other species.

Experts remember that Single Health is the best strategy for the prevention of zoonoses.