Greifswald.
Bird flu is rampant like never before. Experts fear that the virus could adapt to mammals – and become a risk for humans.
After a detour via other mammals, will the bird flu virus soon become a danger to humans? Researchers are currently alarmed and see evidence that the H5N1 virus could adapt to mammals. The reason for concern is an outbreak of the bird flu on a mink farm in Galicia, Spain, last October, for which new information is now available. These represent a transmission of the virus under the minks than likely. In the future, this could also pose a danger to people.
Although the pathogens had previously been found in other mammal species – such as raccoons, foxes, martens or seals – but only occasionally, said Thomas Mettenleiter, President of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute for animal health, the German Press Agency. So far, there have only been isolated events in which the virus got from a bird to a mammal.
Avian influenza outbreak at mink farm: fears of adaptation to mammals
With the outbreak in Spain in October 2022, however, it could be that “the pathogen really did spread from mammal to mammal – i.e. from mink to mink”. Other researchers also believe that this is possible or even probable. The events in the Spanish mink breeding could have been an indication of a further adaptation step of the virus, says Mettenleiter.
The background to the concern is the currently rampant, largest ever documented bird flu wave in birds, which extends over several continents. This gives the pathogen more opportunities to spread to mammals. In addition, the cramped conditions in which the mink were kept were conducive to such a possible spread among these animals, says Mettenleiter. Therefore, the event in Spain was “definitely a warning signal”.
Virologist: “Incredibly worrying”
Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, was even more drastic. “This is incredibly worrying,” he told Science magazine. For him, this is “a clear mechanism for how an H5 pandemic could start”.
At a farm in the northwestern region of Galicia, animals kept there began dying in October last year, Science magazine reported. At first, veterinarians expected the coronavirus to be the trigger. But tests have shown that the H5N1 virus is one of the deaths have led. As a result, the farm’s more than 50,000 mink were killed and their carcasses destroyed. Farm workers themselves were not infected. An analysis of the case has just been published in the magazine “Eurosurveillance”.
Avian influenza: Spread among mammals Public health risk
Since the receptors to which the virus docks in the airways of birds mammals occur less frequently, according to “Science” they are usually spared from bird flu. However, animals could contract bird flu by ingesting wild bird droppings or preying on infected animals, Hualan Chen, a virologist at the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute in China, told Nature magazine. Spread among mammals, on the other hand, indicates that there is a greater risk to public health.
How light the virus found in the mink too People can infect or spread between them is not known, according to the “Science” report. However, several mutations were found in virus samples from four animals. One of them contributes to the fact that the H5N1 virus can multiply better in mammalian tissue. However, another known, worrying mutation was not found.
Corona virus was already spreading rapidly among mink
the Avian Flu Outbreak also shows the risks of mink farming. Even the corona virus, which was brought into mink farms by humans, has spread rapidly among the animals. Researchers fear the mink industry could become a constant source of infection and a breeding ground for viral mutations.
Bird flu has been plaguing Europe on a regular basis for years. While the pathogen in connection with bird migration in the past occurred in this country mainly in the cold season, it has recently been present all year round infections. The currently dominant virus is considered harmless to humans.
(dpa/mahe)
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