Controlling minor #outbreaks is necessary to #prepare for major #pandemics

Source: PLoS Biology, Perspective, https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002945

{Summary}

Ongoing influenza H5N1 outbreaks highlight the need for timely, scalable interventions that draw on lessons from COVID-19. In particular, successful pandemic preparedness requires early outbreak management, including effective responses targeting spillovers before there is evidence of human-to-human transmission.

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#aH5n1 #abstract #avianInfluenza #pandemicInfluenza #pandemicPreparedness #research

#Drosten on the #danger of #birdflu: “I fear that the time has now been missed”

Source: T-Online, https://www.t-online.de/gesundheit/aktuelles/id_100543766/virologe-drosten-zur-h5n1-gefahr-aus-der-corona-pandemie-nichts-gelernt-.html

{Excerpt, original article in German.}

The next epidemic is spreading: the number of bird flu infections is increasing in the USA. Experts such as virologist Drosten criticize the authorities’ actions.

T-Online.de

According to experts, it is doubtful that we have learned anything from the coronavirus pandemic. In many countries, pandemic plans have been dusted off or even created in the first place. But a current example shows that in cases of doubt, too little is still being done to stop the spread of dangerous pathogens as early as possible: the H5N1 bird flu viruses in US dairy farms. Since the first detections in March, according to the US Department of Agriculture, H5N1 cases have been recorded in hundreds of farms in many states.

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#aH5n1 #avianInfluenza #pandemicInfluenza #pandemicPreparedness

#Birdflu Cases Rise: #WHO Calls for Tight #Surveillance to Prevent #Pandemic #Risk

Source: Indozone, https://health.indozone.id/news/485366793/kasus-flu-burung-meningkat-who-serukan-pengawasan-ketat-untuk-cegah-risiko-pandemi#google_vignette

{Excerpts, article in Bahasa Indonesia.}

INDOZONE.ID – On Thursday (11/28/2024), the World Health Organization ( WHO ) called on countries around the world to increase surveillance for bird flu . This appeal came after the first case of bird flu infection was detected in a child in the United States. According to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s Director of Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, the number of H5N1 infections in humans in various countries has shown a small but significant increase in recent years. She said this at a press conference.

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“We need much more robust surveillance, both in the US and in other countries, especially in animals like wild birds, poultry and other animals that are susceptible to infection, including pigs and dairy cattle. That way, we can better understand the spread of this virus in these animals,”.

Maria Van Kerkhove said, as reported by News Asia, Friday (11/29/2024)

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#aH5n1 #avianInfluenza #AVIANINFLUENZA #birdFlu #california #h5n1 #health #human #news #pandemicInfluenza #pandemicPreparedness #USA

Avian #influenza A (#H5N1) virus in dairy #cattle: #origin, #evolution, and cross-species #transmission

Source: mBio, https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.02542-24

ABSTRACT
Since the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 of clade 2.3.4.4b as a novel reassortant virus from subtype H5N8, the virus has led to a massive number of outbreaks worldwide in wild and domestic birds. Compared to the parental HPAIV H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4b, the novel reassortant HPAIV H5N1 displayed an increased ability to escape species barriers and infect multiple mammalian species, including humans. The virus host range has been recently expanded to include ruminants, particularly dairy cattle in the United States, where cattle-to-cattle transmission was reported. As with the avian 2.3.4.4.b H5N1 viruses, the cattle-infecting virus was found to transmit from cattle to other contact animals including cats, raccoons, rodents, opossums, and poultry. Although replication of the virus in cows appears to be mainly confined to the mammary tissue, with high levels of viral loads detected in milk, infected cats and poultry showed severe respiratory disease, neurologic signs, and eventually died. Furthermore, several human infections with HPAIV H5N1 have also been reported in dairy farm workers and were attributed to exposures to infected dairy cattle. This is believed to represent the first mammalian-to-human transmission report of the HPAIV H5N1. Fortunately, infection in humans and cows, as opposed to other animals, appears to be mild in most cases. Nevertheless, the H5N1 bovine outbreak represents the largest outbreak of the H5N1 in a domestic mammal close to humans, increasing the risk that this already mammalian adapted H5N1 further adapts to human-to-human transmission and starts a pandemic. Herein, we discuss the epidemiology, evolution, pathogenesis, and potential impact of the recently identified HPAIV H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in dairy cattle in the United States. Eventually, interdisciplinary cooperation under a One Health framework is required to be able to control this ongoing HPAIV H5N1 outbreak to stop it before further expansion of its host range and geographical distribution.

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#aH5n1 #aH5n8 #abstract #avianInfluenza #AVIANINFLUENZA #birdFlu #cats #dairyCow #h5n1 #health #human #news #pandemicInfluenza #poultry #reassortantStrain #research #USA

https://etidioh.wordpress.com/2024/11/10/influenza-and-other-respiratory-viruses-research-references-by-amedeo-nov-10-24/

#avianInfluenza #COVID19 #exercise #health #influenzaA #mentalHealth #news #pandemicInfluenza #research #seasonalInfluenza #vaccines

Source: BioRxIV, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.07.14.603367v4

Abstract
The United States Department of Agriculture has recently released reports that show samples from 2022-2024 of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) have been detected in mammals and birds. To date, the United States Centers for Disease Control reports that there have been 27 humans infected with H5N1 in 2024. The broader potential impact on human health remains unclear. In this study, we computationally model 1,804 protein complexes consisting of various H5 isolates from 1959 to 2024 against 11 hemagglutinin domain 1 (HA1)-neutralizing antibodies. This study shows a trend of weakening binding affinity of existing antibodies against H5 isolates over time, indicating that the H5N1 virus is evolving immune escape of our medical defenses. We also found that based on the wide variety of host species and geographic locations in which H5N1 was observed to have been transmitted from birds to mammals, there is not a single central reservoir host species or location associated with H5N1’s spread. These results indicate that the virus has potential to move from epidemic to pandemic status in the near future. This study illustrates the value of high-performance computing to rapidly model protein-protein interactions and viral genomic sequence data at-scale for functional insights into medical preparedness.

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https://etidioh.wordpress.com/2024/11/09/large-scale-computational-modeling-of-h5-influenza-variants-against-ha1-neutralizing-antibodies/

#aH5n1 #abstract #avianInfluenza #AVIANINFLUENZA #birdFlu #h5n1 #health #news #pandemicInfluenza #research

Source: BioRxIV, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.06.622244v1

Abstract
The current situation with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) is causing a worldwide concern due to multiple outbreaks in wild birds, poultry, and mammals. Moreover, multiple zoonotic infections in humans have been reported. Importantly, HPAI H5N1 viruses with genetic markers of adaptation to mammals have been detected. Together with HPAI H5N1, avian influenza viruses H7N9 (high and low pathogenic) stand out due to their high mortality rates in humans. This raises the question of how prepared we are serologically and whether seasonal vaccines are capable of inducing protective immunity against these influenza subtypes. An observational study was conducted in which sera from people born between years 1925-1967, 1968-1977, and 1978-1997 were collected before or after 28 days or 6 months post-vaccination with an inactivated seasonal influenza vaccine. Then, haemagglutination inhibition, viral neutralization, and immunoassays were performed to assess the basal protective immunity of the population as well as the ability of seasonal influenza vaccines to induce protective responses. Our results indicate that subtype-specific serological protection against H5N1 and H7N9 in the representative Spanish population evaluated was limited or nonexistent. However, seasonal vaccination was able to increase the antibody titers to protective levels in a moderate percentage of people, probably due to cross-reactive responses. These findings demonstrate the importance of vaccination and suggest that seasonal influenza vaccines could be used as a first line of defense against an eventual pandemic caused by avian influenza viruses, to be followed immediately by the use of more specific pandemic vaccines.

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https://etidioh.wordpress.com/2024/11/09/are-we-serologically-prepared-against-an-avian-influenza-pandemic-and-could-seasonal-flu-vaccines-help-us/

#aH5n1 #aH7n9 #abstract #avianInfluenza #AVIANINFLUENZA #birdFlu #h5n1 #health #human #news #pandemicInfluenza #research #seasonalInfluenza #serology #vaccination

Source: MedRxIV, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.10.31.24316514v1

Abstract
Avian H5N1 influenza viruses are circulating widely in cattle and other mammals and pose a risk for a human pandemic. Previous studies suggest that older humans are more resistant to H5N1 infections due to childhood imprinting with other group 1 viruses (H1N1 and H2N2); however, the immunological basis for this is incompletely understood. Here we show that antibody titers to historical and recent H5N1 strains are highest in older individuals and correlate more strongly with year of birth than with age, consistent with immune imprinting. After vaccination with an A/Vietnam/1203/2004 H5N1 vaccine, both younger and older humans produced H5-reactive antibodies to the vaccine strain and to a clade 2.3.4.4b isolate currently circulating in cattle, with higher seroconversion rates in young children who had lower levels of antibodies before vaccination. These studies suggest that younger individuals might benefit more from vaccination than older individuals in the event of an H5N1 pandemic.

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https://etidioh.wordpress.com/2024/11/03/immune-history-shapes-human-antibody-responses-to-h5n1-influenza-viruses-repost/

#aH1n1 #aH2n2 #aH5n1 #abstract #avianInfluenza #AVIANINFLUENZA #birdFlu #h5n1 #health #immunology #news #pandemicInfluenza #research #vaccination

https://etidioh.wordpress.com/2024/11/03/influenza-and-other-respiratory-viruses-research-references-by-amedeo-nov-3-24/

#avianInfluenza #covid #COVID19 #health #influenzaA #news #pandemicInfluenza #research #seasonalInfluenza #vaccine

Source: Viruses, https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/16/11/1728

Abstract
Despite the efforts of practical medicine and virology, influenza viruses remain the most important pathogens affecting human and animal health. Swine are exposed to infection with all types of influenza A, B, C, and D viruses. Influenza viruses have low pathogenicity for swine, but in the case of co-infection with other pathogens, the outcome can be much more serious, even fatal. Having a high zoonotic potential, swine play an important role in the ecology and spread of influenza to humans. In this study, we review the state of the scientific literature on the zoonotic spread of swine influenza A viruses among humans, their circulation in swine populations worldwide, reverse zoonosis from humans to swine, and their role in interspecies transmission. The analysis covers a long period to trace the ecology and evolutionary history of influenza A viruses in swine. The following databases were used to search the literature: Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed. In this review, 314 papers are considered: n = 107 from Asia, n = 93 from the U.S., n = 86 from Europe, n = 20 from Africa, and n = 8 from Australia. According to the date of publication, they are conditionally divided into three groups: contemporary, released from 2011 to the present (n = 121); 2000–2010 (n = 108); and 1919–1999 (n = 85).

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https://etidioh.wordpress.com/2024/11/01/influenza-a-viruses-in-the-swine-population-ecology-and-geographical-distribution/

#abstract #AVIANINFLUENZA #birdFlu #disease #health #influenzaA #news #pandemicInfluenza #reassortantStrain #research #swineInfluenza