Health
Avian influenza epidemic in cattle may have started months earlier than thought
The outbreak of avian influenza in U.S. dairy cows may have started in January or even as early as December, a new analysis of genetic data suggests.
announced by the Department of Agriculture in late March Dairy cows in Texas and Kansas have tested positive for the H5N1 virus. Since then, cases have been reported in dozens of herds in eight states.
On Tuesday, federal health officials said: Fragments of H5N1 found in milk samples Available at various sites nationwide. Officials said the debris does not pose a threat to consumers.
It is unclear exactly how the cows became infected, but the most likely source of infection is feces or other secretions from wild birds infected with the virus.
Scientists in the United States and other countries have criticized federal agencies for withholding important information about the outbreak, including the genetic sequence of the virus from infected cattle, The New York Times reported. reported on Friday. This data may contain valuable clues to the evolution of the virus and the extent of its prevalence.
On Sunday, the department 239 gene sequences releasedbut some details regarding the location and date they were obtained were omitted.
Still, Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona, said there was enough information to glean that a single bird-to-cow spillover event several months ago triggered the outbreak.
Dr. Worobey said he worked late Monday night until early Tuesday morning analyzing the genetic information. He discovered that these sequences all have the same set of mutations that allow the virus to infect mammals. It would be unlikely if the virus had passed from birds to cattle multiple times.
He said, “This really just looks like an introduction.''
The H5N1 strain is deadly in birds, but so far it has mostly caused mild symptoms in cows and one infected Texas farm worker. Milk from infected cows appears to contain large amounts of the virus, making the milk thick and yellow in color.
But the USDA has released little information about other aspects of the outbreak, such as how long the illness in cattle lasts and how long it takes to clear the virus from the cattle's bodies, says Boston University. said Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, Director of the Emerging Center. Infection.
“We don't know enough about the natural history” of avian influenza in cattle, she says.
Federal scientists are just beginning to analyze more samples taken from asymptomatic cattle to learn whether the outbreak may be more widespread than originally thought.
“If this has really been going on for this long, it seems very likely that they have already moved outside of the United States,” Dr. Worobey said. He noted that Canada imports cattle from the United States.
Some farmers in Texas have been reporting sick cattle since at least February. Federal authorities spent weeks trying to pinpoint the cause of the outbreak, as cattle are not normally infected with this type of influenza.
But instead of studying each potential pathogen, officials could have turned to a technique called metagenomic sequencing, which allows samples to be tested for nearly all known pathogens at once.
Although the technique is more expensive, Dr. Worobey said it would save valuable time in these situations.
“I think this is one of the real missed opportunities here,” he said. “Just the fact that we don't look at these things all over the world, even in the United States, we keep getting caught taking off our bathing suits when the tide goes out.”
Emily Antes Contributed to the report.
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Sources 2/ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/health/bird-flu-cows-genetic.html The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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