Progressive #Adaptation of Subtype #H6N1 Avian #Influenza Virus in #Taiwan Enhances #Mammalian #Infectivity, Pathogenicity, and #Transmissibility

{#USA, #Nevada} The Occurrence of Another Highly Pathogenic Avian #Influenza (HPAI) #Spillover from Wild #Birds into Dairy #Cattle

Dual #receptor-binding, #infectivity, and #transmissibility of an emerging #H2N2 low pathogenicity avian #influenza virus

Source: Nature Communications, AbstractThe 1957 H2N2 influenza pandemic virus [A(H2N2)pdm1957] has disappeared from humans since 1968, while H2N2 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are still circulatin…

#Infectivity and #persistence of #influenza viruses in raw #milk

Source: MedRxIV, AbstractInfluenza A viruses present a significant public health risk, with recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in dairy cattle raising concerns about …

New rapid method for determining virus infectivity

A new method that can rapidly determine whether a virus is infectious or non-infectious could revolutionize the response to future pandemics.

Pasteurisation temperatures effectively inactivate influenza A viruses in milk

In late 2023 an H5N1 lineage of high pathogenicity avian influenza virus (HPAIV) began circulating in American dairy cattle[1][1]. Concerningly, high titres of virus were detected in cows’ milk, raising the concern that milk could be a route of human infection. Cows’ milk is typically pasteurised to render it safe for human consumption, but the effectiveness of pasteurisation on influenza viruses in milk was uncertain. To assess this, we evaluated heat inactivation in milk for a panel of different influenza viruses. This included human and avian influenza A viruses (IAVs), an influenza D virus that naturally infects cattle, and recombinant IAVs carrying contemporary avian or bovine H5N1 glycoproteins. At pasteurisation temperatures, viral infectivity was rapidly lost and became undetectable before the times recommended for pasteurisation. We then showed that an H5N1 HPAIV in milk was effectively inactivated by a comparable treatment, even though its genetic material remained detectable. We conclude that industry standard pasteurisation conditions should effectively inactivate H5N1 HPAIV in cows’ milk, but that unpasteurised milk could carry infectious influenza viruses. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement We acknowledge support for this research consortium from the Medical Research Council (MRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra, UK) as FluMAP [grant number BB/X006204/1, BB/X006166/1], FluTrailMap [grant number BB/Y007271/1, BB/Y007298/1] and FluTrailMap-One Health [MR/Y03368X/1]. We also acknowledge funding from the MRC to E.H. [MC\_PC\_21023 for the Influenza Virus Toolkit and MC\_UU\_00034/1 to the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research] and from the BBSRC to P.D. [Institute Strategic Programme grant BBS/E/RL/230002D and Evolution & Ecology of Infectious Disease grant BB/V011286/1]. J.S. is supported by an Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track fellowship from the Wellcome Trust, and the Centre for Open Science via Flu lab. APHA staff were funded by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the devolved Scottish and Welsh governments under grants SE2213, SV3400 and SV3006. The Pirbright Institute staff are funded by the BBSRC via Institute Strategic Programme Grants (ISPGs) [BBS/E/PI/230002A, BBS/E/PI/230002B]. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors. [1]: #ref-1