Scientists sound alarms on a genetic mutation which has been recently identified in four herds of dairy cows, almost A year after the first H5N1 flu was reported for the first time to the Dairy Latter in Texas.
Although they are not confirmed, scientists believe that infected herds are located in the County of San Bernardino, where health officials announced an epidemic of dairy products last week.
The genetic mutation is that which researchers have feared results because it is associated with an increase in the transmission of mammal mammals and the severity of the disease.
“This is the mutation Found in the first human caseWhat was extremely pathogenic in the ferrets, “said Yoshihiro Kawaoka, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at the University of Tokyo.” Finding the same mutation in cows is important. “”
The mutation is called PB2 E627K, and was seen with a Dairy Texas worker last March. It was not seen as long as these sequences were downloaded Tuesday evening. The data was downloaded by the national veterinary laboratory services of the American Department of Agriculture in a genetic public access benchmark known as the global initiative on the sharing of avian influenza data, or Gisaid.
Henry Niman, an evolutionary molecular biologist and founder of Recombinomics Inc., a research company on the virus and vaccines in Pittsburgh, examined the sequence data and reported the results at the time and on social networks on Wednesday.
Last summer, Kawaoka Exposed Ferrets in his laboratory at this viral tension. He found that the ferrets were able to transmit the virus to each other via respiratory droplets, and he killed all infected animals.
The Texas dairy worker who was exposed to a viral strain with the mutation complained only of conjunctivitis; He had no fever or showed signs of respiratory dysfunction.
Richard Webby, virologist at the Research Hospital for children St. Jude, in Memphis, Tenn., Declared that the mutation “in itself is not a concern that changes the game for me.”
However, he said, if there is evidence that viruses with this mutation really propagate in cows “or any other host elsewhere … It is not exaggerated to think that this could help allow more human infections, perhaps with more illness.”
The data provided in Gisaid does not include location information, so scientists often use other ways to identify herds.
In this case, because the sequence data was added on Tuesday, they probably came from herds which were only reported recently by the USDA. Last week, herds from Idaho and California were added to the USDA count.
The new sequence data added on Tuesday – which were from variety B3.13 – probably come from infected California herds, said several scientists with which Times has maintained. And they underlined a recently reported Epidemic in four dairy herds of the County of San Bernardino as a probable source.
Since the epidemic was reported for the first time in dairy cows last March, 70 people were infected and a person died. According to the USDA, 985 dairy herds were infected, including 754 in California.
“The key is now that California public health officials and hospital systems are watching for unpleasant higher respiratory infections,” said John Korslund, a veterinarian and former USDA researcher. “Especially among dairy and their families.”
The Department of Public Health of the County of San Bernardino did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
