What should be our level of concern about the bird flu virus? Friends and co-workers have asked me this question several times in the past two weeks. They were prompted by a number of potentially worrying developments that have occurred in the US. These include the spread of virus to dairy cows, detection of virus in both pig and cow milk, as well as the growing numbers of infections in humans.
Pigs are known to be notorious virus incubators. Virologists were particularly concerned about this virus spreading into these animals. Brinkley BELLOTTI, infectious disease epidemiologist from Wake Forest University, North Carolina, says that “they can be infected by swine, bird, and human strains.” The strains that are swapped can give rise to more dangerous or infectious strains.
We haven’t had any more cases of the virus in pig farms and it’s not spreadable between pigs. Seema Lakhdawala is a virologist from Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. She says that while the virus has spread rapidly among cattle, it doesn’t appear to have changed much. This suggests the virus only made it into cattle once, most likely from birds. Since then, it’s been spreading to herds.
We still do not know everything How to get started It is spreading. Some evidence suggests that the virus may be transmitted from cow to co-milker through sharing of equipment. It is not clear how the virus spreads between farms. It’s difficult to formulate an effective strategy for control when you do not know how the virus is spreading, says Bellotti.
It’s in their milk. It’s also in the milk. Scientists found H5N1 viral RNA in 297 Grade A retail milk samples, which included milk, cream, and cheese. These samples came from 17 different states in the US. The study took place in April just a few weeks after the first cattle virus detection. Lakdawala says, “It is surprising that we’re totally okay with our pasteurized products containing viral genome.”
According to research, virus transmission is prevented by pasteurizing milk. Lakdawala worries that the pasteurization process may not always inactivate the entire virus. We don’t even know the amount of virus that we should ingest. [to become infected]She says that she is concerned about the pasteurization of food and whether it will be successful.
Raw milk that has not been pasteurized cannot be guaranteed. Even when milk looks normal, the virus can be present.
Most concerning is, however, the increase in cases of human infection. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have so far been 55 cases of H5N1 in birds reported by the US. Nineteen of these cases were detected in California. It is believed that the person infected has contracted the virus by consuming poultry or cattle on farms. In two cases the cause of infection was not known.
The health professionals in British Columbia don’t either know what caused a Canadian teenager to become so ill with bird flu. Anonymous teenager who was hospitalized for eye infection in November 2 is still very sick and dependent on ventilators to breathe. The investigation by local health officials into the infection of the teenager is now closed.
Unreported cases may also exist. Researchers tested 115 dairy workers from Michigan and Colorado. They found that 7% had signs of recent virus infection.
There is currently no proof that this virus can be spread from person to person. Every human infection gives the virus a chance to develop into a version that is able to do this. Also, people can be viral incubators. It is more likely that the seasonal influenza virus and H5N1 will mix during flu season.
Just because you [haven’t seen human-to-human spread] Lakdawala says, “Now doesn’t mean it can’t, won’t, or hasn’t happened.”
What’s next? Lakdawala believes we should have already started immunizing dairy farm workers. The US already has vaccines against H5N1, designed to prevent previous strains of virus. We’re not taking any chances. [the human cases] “Seriously enough”, she replies.
It is also important to understand how this virus spreads and to implement better measures in order to prevent it. This means that at least more tests should be done on both dairy workers and cows. We must be very clear about the fact that raw milk is dangerous, and vaccines can help prevent pandemics, regardless of what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says.
There is still time to stop the epidemic from becoming a worldwide catastrophe. The situation has gotten worse since summer. Lakdawala says that this is how the pandemic of 2009 began. We started seeing a few cases randomly, but then, all of a sudden, it was everywhere.
