The H5N1 mutation detected in US dairy products requires prudence on the Pandemic Potential – World

Sacramento, the United States, sounds alarm about a genetic mutation of the H5N1 bird influenza virus, recently identified in four dairy effective, as this mutation could increase the risk of mammal transmission and the severity of the disease.

The mutation, known as the PB2 E627K, was detected in the sequence data loaded by the US Department (USDA) on Tuesday, according to the Evolutionary Molecular Biologist Henry Niman, whose findings were reported by Los Angeles Times.

“This is the mutation found in the first human case, which was extremely pathogenic in the dicori,” said the Los Angeles Times Yoshihiro Kawaka, an infectious expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Tokyo. “Finding the same mutation in cows is significant.”

The mutation was previously seen in a Texas milk worker last March, but it was detected again until the latest sequences were loaded at the global initiative to share all the flu (Gisaid), a public genetic deposit in Germany.

The discovery comes almost a year after H5N1 was first reported to Texas dairy cattle. Since then, the virus has spread significantly, with USDA reporting 985 infected milk number of milk, including 754 in California.

In last summer’s laboratory tests, Kawaka found that the dihors exposed to the viral stem with this mutation could transmit the virus through respiratory drops, with a mortality rate of 100 percent among infected animals. The new data of the sequence probably come from the effective of California recently infected with the more common strain B3.13, which has been related to dairy cows since last year.

Human cases are also increasing. According to USDA, 70 people were infected with H5N1, with a single reported death. US centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) have confirmed these cases by analyzing the genome sequence.

In three human cases, scientists have identified a substitution of amino acids, Na-S247N, which can easily reduce the susceptibility to oseltamivir (Tamiflu), an antiviral drug. The CDC has also identified a different modification of the acid protein of polymerase of a virus from a recently confirmed human case.

Most infected agricultural workers have developed mild and respiratory symptoms, although the marker to adapt mammals (E627K) has been noted in a single worker.

Scientists and public health officials express different levels of concern about the pandemic potential of the virus. At a discussion of Harvard Medical School on March 5, experts rated their level of concern between four and seven on a scale of one to ten.

“I think we live next to a volcano, and maybe erupt, or maybe not. But we have to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic,” said Jacob Lemieux, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and an infectious disease specialist in the General Hospital in Massachusetts.

The origin and transmission model of the virus to dairy cattle remains mysterious. The current outbreak validates the unpredictability of extremely pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAI), because the path of exposure to dairy cows and the transmission of the virus remains unknown, according to Gisaid.

Scientists have also discovered high concentrations of viral RNA in raw milk, raising concerns about potential transmission paths.

The CDC has launched data from the first human fatality – a patient from Louisiana who was exposed to poultry and wild birds – as well as from agricultural workers in Iowa and Wisconsin, who were exposed to infected commercial birds.

According to Kathryn Stephenson, an infectious disease expert at Beth Israel Deacones Medical Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, most H5N1 Human cases were mild, with conjunctivitis (pink eyes) as a common symptom. However, in recent months, three patients have developed severe or critical diseases, with a single death.

Public health officials recommend testing H5N1 in anyone with high-risk symptoms and exposure, as well as all patients with avian flu hospitalized A. The United States have stored three pre-pandemic H5N1 vaccines, but do not match the current stems circulating in animals and humans.

Jonathan Runstadler, a professor at the Cummings of Veterinary Medicine of Tufts, has expressed concern about US federal financing discounts for supervisory efforts.

“The reality is that we cannot prepare for what we do not know. A critical aspect of supervision is the understanding of what circulates and what is a potential threat for spreading to other species,” Runstadler noted.