Bird flu on the move. Here are the different strains around the world

Avian influenza, aliases bird flu, has nationalist wellness officials connected alert aft an unprecedented dispersed successful dairy cows successful nan United States this year. Four dairy workers person besides tested affirmative successful nan country.

A peculiarly terrible version of nan H5N1 strain has been spreading astir nan world successful animals since 2020, causing lethal outbreaks successful commercialized poultry and sporadic infections in other species from alpacas to location cats. Until this year, it had ne'er infected cows.

Different bird flu strains person been recovered successful Australia and Mexico successful humans, while different H5 subtypes are besides coming astir nan world successful some animals and humans, successful countries including China and Cambodia.

Most of nan quality cases reported vulnerability to poultry, unrecorded poultry markets, aliases dairy cattle anterior to infection, but scientists are worried nan microorganism could mutate successful ways that make it much easy dispersed from person-to-person, which could spark a pandemic. The World Health Organization says nan consequence to group is debased astatine this point.

Below are occurrences of varying types of the bird flu virus that person been recovered successful humans this year.

The first known cases of infected dairy cattle occurred successful Texas successful March, and is now successful dairy herds successful 12 states. The U.S. Agriculture Department said tests truthful acold bespeak that nan microorganism detected successful cows is nan aforesaid H5N1 microorganism affecting wild birds and commercialized poultry flocks. The 4 dairy workers who person tested affirmative for nan microorganism this twelvemonth had mild symptoms specified arsenic conjunctivitis, aliases pinkish eye.

The H5N1 microorganism successful nan United States belongs to nan clade 2.3.4.4b, genotype B3.13, a genotype detected only successful North America truthful far, nan European Food Safety Agency said successful a scientific report.

A resident of Mexico died pinch nan first known cases of H5N2 avian influenza successful humans, nan WHO said connected June 5. Mexico’s authorities said chronic illness, alternatively than bird flu, was nan origin of death. The personification had nary known vulnerability to animals.

The WHO connected June 7 said a child with H5N1 bird flu reported by Australia had traveled to Kolkata, India. Genetic sequencing showed nan microorganism was a subtype of H5N1 and portion of a strain that circulates successful Southeast Asia and has been detected successful erstwhile quality infections and successful poultry.

Australia is separately dealing pinch 3 outbreaks of different strains of nan microorganism connected poultry farms – H7N3, H7N8 and H7N9 – that authorities opportunity apt arrived connected farms via wild birds.

The WHO connected June 11 reported a case of quality infection with bird flu caused by nan H9N2 subtype successful a four-year-old kid successful nan eastbound Indian authorities of West Bengal. It was nan 2nd quality infection of H9N2 bird flu from India pursuing a lawsuit successful 2019, nan agency said. While nan H9N2 microorganism typically tends to origin mild illness, nan United Nations agency said further sporadic quality cases could hap arsenic this is 1 of nan astir prevalent avian influenza viruses circulating successful poultry successful different regions.

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Vietnam reported a 21-year-old student had died from nan H5N1 bird flu in March. He had nary underlying aesculapian conditions, but had been exposed to wild birds from hunting a mates of weeks anterior to onset of symptoms. No interaction pinch dormant aliases sick poultry was reported astatine nan time.

Vietnam besides reported an outbreak of H9N2 successful a 37-year-old man, EFSA said.

The Southeast Asia federation and Vietnam neighbour has reported 5 quality cases of H5N1 arsenic of June 20.

China this twelvemonth detected quality cases caused by nan H5N6, H9N2 and H10N3 strains, pinch 2 fatal H5N6 cases successful nan Fujian province. Both of those cases had vulnerability to backyard poultry earlier nan onset of symptoms, EFSA said.

The lawsuit of H10N3 avian influenza was nan 3rd 1 ever reported globally.

Germany reported a rare outbreak of highly pathogenic H7N5 bird flu on a workplace successful nan occidental portion of nan country, adjacent nan separator pinch nan Netherlands, nan World Organisation for Animal Health said connected July 4. It was nan first outbreak anyplace of H7N5 connected WOAH’s nationalist records.