According to researchers, the H5N1 avian influenza virus is most likely transmitted from cows to cats and raccoons. “This is one of the first times we have seen evidence of efficient and persistent mammal-to-mammal transmission of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza,” researchers said.
The genome sequences of the viruses from dairy cows, birds, domestic cats and a raccoon from affected farms indicate cross-species transmission, writes a team of researchers led by Diego Diel of Cornell University.
The researchers fear that further mutations could make the virus more dangerous to humans.
The risk of human-to-human transmission remains low: “Sequencing the entire genome of the virus has not revealed any mutations in the virus that would make H5N1 more transmissible to humans,” Diel said. However, the data clearly showed mammal-to-mammal transmission, “which is concerning because the virus can adapt in mammals.”
Genotype B3.13 developed
Based on these and other findings, primarily through genetic studies, the researchers outline this sequence of events: The B3.13 genotype evolved in an unknown host animal. The strain was first discovered in early 2024 in a goose in Wyoming, a peregrine falcon in California, and a skunk in New Mexico. Another unknown host animal, possibly a wild bird, then transmitted the virus to the cows, which then found other hosts—in addition to cats and a raccoon, pigeons, and other birds.
In the US, the 11 cases of bird flu in humans since April 2022 have been mild and with mild symptoms. The affected people worked on poultry and livestock farms and were likely infected directly from the animals.
Researchers are concerned that the virus could continue to adapt, potentially increasing its infectivity and transmissibility to other species, including humans.
Source: Krone
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