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Everyone,
I have recevied a response from the university of Florida's IFAS regarding that Russian claim that mosquitoes are a vector for H5N1.
As follows:
Dear Mr. McPherson,
In reference to your questions about mosquitoes transmitting Avian Flu, I would be happy to talk to you by phone for a more detailed discussion, but for now:
The insects listed in the Power Point presentation that you sent are all flies and beetles that are common in and around poultry operations/farms. These particular flies are attracted to the feces from the poultry. They are not blood-feeding insects. It is not surprising that these insects have been found with virus, they basically roll around in all the chicken poop ? and as explained in the article you sent, the virus is shed in the chickens feces. They may mechanically transmit the virus by having it on their foot pads, outside mouth parts, etc., but the most common method of transmission of any pathogen by mosquitoes is biological. For mosquitoes to play a significant role in transmission of a virus, biological transmission is necessary. This involves an increase in the virus inside the mosquito, after picking it up from a blood meal, and then transmission occurs sometime later when the mosquito feeds on another host. This occurs with West Nile, SLE, EEE, etc. The paper and the power point presentation include insects that are mechanical transmitters attracted to the poop. Mosquitoes are attracted to CO2, not poop, to feed on blood.
Concerning the Russian article that states that they have proven that mosquitoes transmit Avian Flu: A headline and one paragraph stating that Russians found that mosquitoes transmit Avian Flu, with absolutely no data to support this claim, does not constitute peer review. Such a finding is huge ? and "huge" gets published in Science or Nature, regardless of the language, and is/should be widely circulated. Pro-Med would have been all over it too, if it were peer reviewed and published in a credible scientific journal. An internet posting such as this one is not peer reviewed. Such reports are often made and make it to the media, but I urge caution to you and your committee in accepting this at face value.
The problem with an unsubstantiated report is that all the details are missing ? this is not good or acceptable science. There has never been any epidemiological evidence or reason to suspect that mosquitoes or bats have ever played a substantial role in a flu epidemic. If substantiated, it would just be another method of transmission and would have to be assessed in the face of aerosol, animal to animal, and animal to person mechanisms which are proven and clearly important.
While the internet has become a great means of communicating news rapidly, it does omit time for peer review and allows gossip to spread rapidly. We rely on scientific review that occurs no matter the nationality.
So, after much consideration of your questions, and discussing this among my colleagues here at UF, the bottom line is that there is no available data to substantiate this claim, including the original work, that would cause concern here, or a shift in research priorities.
Take care and please let me know if you have any questions about my statements.
Sincerely,
C. Roxanne (Rutledge) Connelly, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Medical Entomology Extension Specialist
Univ of Florida - IFAS
Silly Russians. -- SM
I have recevied a response from the university of Florida's IFAS regarding that Russian claim that mosquitoes are a vector for H5N1.
As follows:
Dear Mr. McPherson,
In reference to your questions about mosquitoes transmitting Avian Flu, I would be happy to talk to you by phone for a more detailed discussion, but for now:
The insects listed in the Power Point presentation that you sent are all flies and beetles that are common in and around poultry operations/farms. These particular flies are attracted to the feces from the poultry. They are not blood-feeding insects. It is not surprising that these insects have been found with virus, they basically roll around in all the chicken poop ? and as explained in the article you sent, the virus is shed in the chickens feces. They may mechanically transmit the virus by having it on their foot pads, outside mouth parts, etc., but the most common method of transmission of any pathogen by mosquitoes is biological. For mosquitoes to play a significant role in transmission of a virus, biological transmission is necessary. This involves an increase in the virus inside the mosquito, after picking it up from a blood meal, and then transmission occurs sometime later when the mosquito feeds on another host. This occurs with West Nile, SLE, EEE, etc. The paper and the power point presentation include insects that are mechanical transmitters attracted to the poop. Mosquitoes are attracted to CO2, not poop, to feed on blood.
Concerning the Russian article that states that they have proven that mosquitoes transmit Avian Flu: A headline and one paragraph stating that Russians found that mosquitoes transmit Avian Flu, with absolutely no data to support this claim, does not constitute peer review. Such a finding is huge ? and "huge" gets published in Science or Nature, regardless of the language, and is/should be widely circulated. Pro-Med would have been all over it too, if it were peer reviewed and published in a credible scientific journal. An internet posting such as this one is not peer reviewed. Such reports are often made and make it to the media, but I urge caution to you and your committee in accepting this at face value.
The problem with an unsubstantiated report is that all the details are missing ? this is not good or acceptable science. There has never been any epidemiological evidence or reason to suspect that mosquitoes or bats have ever played a substantial role in a flu epidemic. If substantiated, it would just be another method of transmission and would have to be assessed in the face of aerosol, animal to animal, and animal to person mechanisms which are proven and clearly important.
While the internet has become a great means of communicating news rapidly, it does omit time for peer review and allows gossip to spread rapidly. We rely on scientific review that occurs no matter the nationality.
So, after much consideration of your questions, and discussing this among my colleagues here at UF, the bottom line is that there is no available data to substantiate this claim, including the original work, that would cause concern here, or a shift in research priorities.
Take care and please let me know if you have any questions about my statements.
Sincerely,
C. Roxanne (Rutledge) Connelly, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Medical Entomology Extension Specialist
Univ of Florida - IFAS
Silly Russians. -- SM
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