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August 21, 2024
The University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute has assembled a multidisciplinary working group to research a swiftly spreading bird flu strain and help prepare Florida’s response to potential outbreaks.
A subtype of avian influenza known as H5N1 has quickly spread worldwide, impacting hundreds of bird species and nearly 50 species of mammals, including humans – often lethally. About 50% of the people with a confirmed H5N1 infection have died from the virus. It is also highly pathogenic to poultry, decimating flocks within hours.
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While no cases of H5N1 have been identified on Florida dairy farms or in Florida residents, the virus has infected wild birds, backyard chickens and at least one dolphin. H5N1 is also particularly deadly to cats, raising concerns about its potential impacts on the endangered Florida panther.
The EPI has convened a working group of clinicians, epidemiologists, veterinarians and animal health experts to research H5N1 and coordinate with Florida’s public health officials and agricultural industry. The EPI houses the only laboratory in the state with the trained experts and infrastructure necessary for in-depth studies of the H5N1 virus.
“We are uniquely equipped to deal with emerging pathogens like H5N1,” said EPI Director J. Glenn Morris, Jr., M.D.“ With faculty from across the UF campus, we can quickly assemble a robust multidisciplinary team and connect with experts at the state level, as well as Florida farmers through UF/IFAS Extension. This allows us to get to the heart of a problem and address it from multiple angles.”
The new team is led by EPI member Benjamin Anderson, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and an expert in zoonotic diseases. Anderson said the group is working alongside state agencies that oversee public health, agriculture and wildlife to provide data for decision-making. The team is also generating actionable plans to advance the study of the virus and stay poised to respond to potential outbreaks.
In partnership with the University of Florida Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences, the EPI bird flu working group is communicating directly with members of Florida’s agricultural industry to enhance the safety of local farms, Anderson said.
“Our role and responsibility as an academic center of excellence at the university is to utilize our resources to advance our ability to respond to H5N1 as a state,” he said. “Bringing groups together allows us to not only activate research strategies, but pair them with the response efforts of the state.”
Anderson said the EPI team is able to conduct testing for H5N1 viruses using different types of samples, such as wastewater and milk. The EPI is also one of a limited number of facilities in Florida able to test blood from animals and people for H5N1 antibodies, which serve as indicators that bird flu is circulating. It is currently the only institute in Florida equipped to isolate the virus. Isolating the virus allows scientists to analyze its features, which could provide researchers and vaccine developers with vital information on effective interventions against the disease, Anderson said.
continued: https://epi.ufl.edu/2024/08/21/uf-ep...idas-response/
August 21, 2024
The University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute has assembled a multidisciplinary working group to research a swiftly spreading bird flu strain and help prepare Florida’s response to potential outbreaks.
A subtype of avian influenza known as H5N1 has quickly spread worldwide, impacting hundreds of bird species and nearly 50 species of mammals, including humans – often lethally. About 50% of the people with a confirmed H5N1 infection have died from the virus. It is also highly pathogenic to poultry, decimating flocks within hours.
-snip-
While no cases of H5N1 have been identified on Florida dairy farms or in Florida residents, the virus has infected wild birds, backyard chickens and at least one dolphin. H5N1 is also particularly deadly to cats, raising concerns about its potential impacts on the endangered Florida panther.
The EPI has convened a working group of clinicians, epidemiologists, veterinarians and animal health experts to research H5N1 and coordinate with Florida’s public health officials and agricultural industry. The EPI houses the only laboratory in the state with the trained experts and infrastructure necessary for in-depth studies of the H5N1 virus.
“We are uniquely equipped to deal with emerging pathogens like H5N1,” said EPI Director J. Glenn Morris, Jr., M.D.“ With faculty from across the UF campus, we can quickly assemble a robust multidisciplinary team and connect with experts at the state level, as well as Florida farmers through UF/IFAS Extension. This allows us to get to the heart of a problem and address it from multiple angles.”
The new team is led by EPI member Benjamin Anderson, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and an expert in zoonotic diseases. Anderson said the group is working alongside state agencies that oversee public health, agriculture and wildlife to provide data for decision-making. The team is also generating actionable plans to advance the study of the virus and stay poised to respond to potential outbreaks.
In partnership with the University of Florida Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences, the EPI bird flu working group is communicating directly with members of Florida’s agricultural industry to enhance the safety of local farms, Anderson said.
“Our role and responsibility as an academic center of excellence at the university is to utilize our resources to advance our ability to respond to H5N1 as a state,” he said. “Bringing groups together allows us to not only activate research strategies, but pair them with the response efforts of the state.”
Anderson said the EPI team is able to conduct testing for H5N1 viruses using different types of samples, such as wastewater and milk. The EPI is also one of a limited number of facilities in Florida able to test blood from animals and people for H5N1 antibodies, which serve as indicators that bird flu is circulating. It is currently the only institute in Florida equipped to isolate the virus. Isolating the virus allows scientists to analyze its features, which could provide researchers and vaccine developers with vital information on effective interventions against the disease, Anderson said.
continued: https://epi.ufl.edu/2024/08/21/uf-ep...idas-response/