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CIDRAP FLU SCAN: Pika avian flu clues; Global flu update

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  • CIDRAP FLU SCAN: Pika avian flu clues; Global flu update

    Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...an-aug-24-2016

    Flu Scan for Aug 24, 2016
    Pika avian flu clues; Global flu update

    Filed Under:
    Avian Influenza (Bird Flu); Influenza, General
    Findings build case for role of pikas in avian flu evolution in China

    Evidence is growing that the pika, a small mammal thought to be the inspiration behind the Pokemon Pikachu character, may play a role in the evolution of avian influenza viruses in China's Qinghai Lake region, according to new findings today from a Chinese research team.
    The lake is major stopover for migrating birds that have spread highly pathogenic H5N1 to major global flyways.
    The report, based on sampling of wild birds and pikas from 2006 to 2009, focuses on H7N2 viruses that were isolated and analyzed. The group published its findings in Scientific Reports.
    The investigators said the study was done to yield more information about pikas' role in avian flu ecology, given that H5N1 has been detected in the animals and that experiments have shown they are susceptible to both avian and human flu viruses. Scientists suspect that pikas, like pigs, could be a mixing vessel for flu viruses because they have receptors for both types of viruses in their respiratory tracts. The authors also said waterfowl and poultry have been the main targets in past Qinghai Lake surveillance activities, leaving questions about how common the viruses are in the region's wild birds.
    The researchers sampled 941 healthy animals along Qinghai province migration routes, isolating 17 H7N2 viruses, 8 from pikas and 9 from wild birds. The viruses were closely related to each other and similar to ones isolated in Hong Kong in the 1970s, hinting that H7N2 there has been stable. Pathogenicity tests found that the H7N2 isolates were low pathogenic in chickens and mice.
    The authors concluded that H7N2 has become enzootic in wild animals around Qinghai Lake and that the findings build the case that pikas could serve as a healthy reservoir, as part of a complex transmission pattern that could involve wild birds that live in close contact. They added that pikas should be considered for future surveillance programs. So far the H7N2 strain hasn't been detected in the region's poultry, perhaps due to limited surveillance, they note.
    Aug 24 Sci Rep abstract
    WHO: Flu rising in South Africa, Australia

    Flu activity in the Southern Hemisphere still reflects a mixed picture, with a continued rise in temperate parts of southern Africa and slowly rising detections in Australia and New Caledonia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest global flu update. The pace of the disease, though, is still low for this time of year in New Zealand.
    In South America, flu activity remained elevated in Chile and has plateaued in Paraguay, with co-circulating 2009 H1N1 and influenza B viruses. Colombia's flu activity continued to decline, as did the disease in Ecuador and Bolivia?all countries that had reported brisk 2009 H1N1 activity. Peru's flu activity increased over the past week, with activity in Brazil reported as low.
    In Asian countries, flu remained at low levels except for Southeast Asia, where detections have increased over the past few weeks, with both influenza A and B strains circulating, the WHO said.
    At the global level, 66.3% of flu-positive respiratory specimens were influenza A, and of subtyped viruses, 67.1% were H3N2 and 32.9% were 2009 H1N1. The numbers reflect an H3N2 surge since the previous WHO update, when the subtype made up less than half of subtyped influenza A viruses.
    Aug 22 WHO global flu update



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