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Animal health officials rush to curb spread of bird flu virus
Don Jenkins
Capital Press
Published:
February 12, 2015 9:51AM
...
Until mid-December, highly pathogenic bird flu had never been detected in the U.S. West. Since then, migratory ducks, native raptors, backyard flocks and commercial poultry have been infected in six Western states and British Columbia, Canada.
They are all part of an overlapping web of viruses spread across the Northern Hemisphere by migratory birds. Animal health officials had long talked about the possibility of a virulent Eurasian bird flu strain spreading to North America. This year it happened, posing a threat to the $4 billion-a-year Canadian poultry industry and the $44 billion U.S. poultry industry.
Plus, this particular Eurasian virus, an H5N8 strain that appeared 13 months ago in South Korea, is mixing with North American viruses to create new H5N2 and H5N1 strains. So far, Washington is the only state where all three have been confirmed. Canada has had the Eurasian-North American H5N2 and H5N1, but not the H5N8.
It was the discovery of H5N1 in a green-winged teal duck that Baker described as ?scary.?
H5N1 viruses have killed more than 400 people in the past decade, according to the World Health Organization.
Further tests, however, showed the version of the virus that showed up in Washington state virus was genetically different from the one that has been deadly to humans in Asia and Africa.
...
The letters ?H? and ?N? stand for two proteins ? hemagluttin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). There are 16 HA and nine NA subtypes, making many combinations possible. Some combinations are known to infect birds, while other combinations infect people. Gene sequencing is used to identify the virus.
Despite its name, the H5N1 found in Washington is more closely related to the Eurasian H5N8 and Eurasian-North American H5N2 strains, which have not been known to infect people.
The virus? appearance, however, illustrated that the disease is constantly being reshaped in the wild.
?The thing about avian influenza viruses is that the only thing predictable about them is they will change,? Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife veterinarian Kristin Mansfield said.
...
Full text:
http://www.capitalpress.com/Nation_...ficials-rush-to-curb-spread-of-bird-flu-virus
Don Jenkins
Capital Press
Published:
February 12, 2015 9:51AM
...
Until mid-December, highly pathogenic bird flu had never been detected in the U.S. West. Since then, migratory ducks, native raptors, backyard flocks and commercial poultry have been infected in six Western states and British Columbia, Canada.
They are all part of an overlapping web of viruses spread across the Northern Hemisphere by migratory birds. Animal health officials had long talked about the possibility of a virulent Eurasian bird flu strain spreading to North America. This year it happened, posing a threat to the $4 billion-a-year Canadian poultry industry and the $44 billion U.S. poultry industry.
Plus, this particular Eurasian virus, an H5N8 strain that appeared 13 months ago in South Korea, is mixing with North American viruses to create new H5N2 and H5N1 strains. So far, Washington is the only state where all three have been confirmed. Canada has had the Eurasian-North American H5N2 and H5N1, but not the H5N8.
It was the discovery of H5N1 in a green-winged teal duck that Baker described as ?scary.?
H5N1 viruses have killed more than 400 people in the past decade, according to the World Health Organization.
Further tests, however, showed the version of the virus that showed up in Washington state virus was genetically different from the one that has been deadly to humans in Asia and Africa.
...
The letters ?H? and ?N? stand for two proteins ? hemagluttin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). There are 16 HA and nine NA subtypes, making many combinations possible. Some combinations are known to infect birds, while other combinations infect people. Gene sequencing is used to identify the virus.
Despite its name, the H5N1 found in Washington is more closely related to the Eurasian H5N8 and Eurasian-North American H5N2 strains, which have not been known to infect people.
The virus? appearance, however, illustrated that the disease is constantly being reshaped in the wild.
?The thing about avian influenza viruses is that the only thing predictable about them is they will change,? Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife veterinarian Kristin Mansfield said.
...
Full text:
http://www.capitalpress.com/Nation_...ficials-rush-to-curb-spread-of-bird-flu-virus