Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
A Flu Epidemic That Threatens Birds, Not Humans
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.MAY 4, 2015
...
No one knows how lethal any of the new viruses might be to humans. But because the virus spreading in the Midwest can wipe out most of a flock in two days, all are assumed to be dangerous.
...
?We deem this a low human health risk ? low, but not zero,? said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ?So far, we don?t have worrisome signs. But we don?t want to be overly reassuring, because with influenza, we always take events quite seriously.
...
The H5N2 and the new H5N1 have some North American genes and so clearly emerged on this continent more recently ? presumably when the H5N8 virus finally arrived and crossed with North American strains.
That may have happened last summer. Migratory ducks, geese and swans from around the world share ponds in the Arctic in summer. New flu gene mixes emerge and move south along the various migratory paths taken by the birds.
Whatever the mix of genes, dose size is also important in determining spread of the virus, said Dr. Peter Palese, a flu expert at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Human flus can infect people who inhale only one to 10 virus particles, he said, but it takes 100,000 to 1 million particles of an H5 bird flu to infect a human.
...
In birds, flu is primarily an intestinal disease rather than a respiratory one, so cullers and cleaners are told to wear coveralls, face masks and goggles to prevent any barn dust ? much of which is powdered feces ? from entering their noses, mouths or eyes.
Dr. Palese says he believes they should wear the full hoods with battery-powered air filters used in biosafety Level 3 laboratories.
Officials, he said, should also consider giving them the vaccines developed years ago against H5N1. Although it would not be a perfect match, it might provide some protection.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/health/a-flu-epidemic-that-threatens-birds-not-humans.html?_r=0
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.MAY 4, 2015
...
No one knows how lethal any of the new viruses might be to humans. But because the virus spreading in the Midwest can wipe out most of a flock in two days, all are assumed to be dangerous.
...
?We deem this a low human health risk ? low, but not zero,? said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ?So far, we don?t have worrisome signs. But we don?t want to be overly reassuring, because with influenza, we always take events quite seriously.
...
The H5N2 and the new H5N1 have some North American genes and so clearly emerged on this continent more recently ? presumably when the H5N8 virus finally arrived and crossed with North American strains.
That may have happened last summer. Migratory ducks, geese and swans from around the world share ponds in the Arctic in summer. New flu gene mixes emerge and move south along the various migratory paths taken by the birds.
Whatever the mix of genes, dose size is also important in determining spread of the virus, said Dr. Peter Palese, a flu expert at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Human flus can infect people who inhale only one to 10 virus particles, he said, but it takes 100,000 to 1 million particles of an H5 bird flu to infect a human.
...
In birds, flu is primarily an intestinal disease rather than a respiratory one, so cullers and cleaners are told to wear coveralls, face masks and goggles to prevent any barn dust ? much of which is powdered feces ? from entering their noses, mouths or eyes.
Dr. Palese says he believes they should wear the full hoods with battery-powered air filters used in biosafety Level 3 laboratories.
Officials, he said, should also consider giving them the vaccines developed years ago against H5N1. Although it would not be a perfect match, it might provide some protection.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/health/a-flu-epidemic-that-threatens-birds-not-humans.html?_r=0