Bird flu patients develop mutations, raising concerns about human transmission
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced last week that a patient hospitalized with severe bird flu in Louisiana was found to have a mutated version of the virus.
The fact that the virus mutates in patients suggests that it has the potential to spread from person to person.
The CDC said the agency analyzed samples of the H5N1 virus collected from patients and compared its genome sequences to those of infected dairy cows, wild birds, poultry and other animals.
Avian influenza causes severe human illness and emergency
“The analysis found a low-frequency mutation in the hemagglutinin gene in samples sequenced from the patient, but was not found in viral sequences from poultry samples collected from the patient’s home,” the CDC said, “suggesting that the patient was infected after infection. There has been a change.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a patient hospitalized with severe avian influenza in Louisiana was found to have a mutated version of the virus. (iStock)
“While these low-frequency changes are rare in humans, they have been reported in previous A(H5N1) cases in other countries, most commonly during severe disease.”
Based on the discovery of these genetic changes in the virus, health officials recommend “ongoing genomic surveillance” of humans and animals, measures to contain outbreaks of avian influenza in dairy cows and poultry, and measures to prevent transmission through contact with infected animals or the environment.
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The CDC insists the risk to the population remains low.
Samuel Scarpino, director of artificial intelligence and life sciences and professor of health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston, confirmed to Fox News Digital that “the same mutation was not present in the genome of the virus taken from backyard birds that may have infected the individual.
CDC analyzed samples of the H5N1 virus collected from patients and compared its genome sequences to those of infected dairy cows, wild birds, poultry and other animals. (iStock)
“Because the mutation was present in the human patient but not in the backyard birds, this suggests that the mutation arose during the course of that individual’s infection.”
Dr. Mark Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, shared his thoughts on the significance of this finding with Fox News Digital.
“Each human infection represents a spin on the epidemic roulette wheel.”
“The H5N1 bird flu virus found in the Louisiana patient showed a mutation that made it easier for it to enter the patient’s upper respiratory tract, which is a little concerning, but this mutation has been seen before,” he told Fox News Digital .
The good news, doctors say, is that there have not been any reports of Louisiana patients spreading the virus to other humans.
“Extensive monitoring of poultry and dairy cattle is very important,” Dr. Mark Siegel told Fox News Digital. (Photo: Uli Deck/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)
Based on previous research, “we know mutations that warrant caution in terms of their potential for transmission between humans,” Siegel said.
“Extensive monitoring of poultry and dairy cattle is very important,” he added.
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Scarpino agreed that while the mutations are “concerning,” they “may not represent an increased risk to the public.”
“Similar events — mutations arising during infection that increase risk in humans — occurred with the individual who was infected with H5N1 from wild birds in Canada and have happened a number of times during previous H5N1 outbreaks outside the US and Canada,” he told Fox News digital.
The more opportunities the virus has to infect humans, the greater the chance that similar mutations will occur and trigger “chains of transmission” in humans, an expert has warned. (iStock)
“To date, individuals in Louisiana do not appear to have spread the infection to others.”
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However, doctors warn that the more opportunities the virus has to infect humans, the more likely it is that similar mutations will occur and trigger “chains of transmission” in humans.
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“Each human infection represents a spin on the epidemic roulette wheel,” Scarpino said.
“We need to take aggressive steps to eliminate H5N1 infections in agricultural populations and better understand why so many wild birds continue to be infected.”
