Hopes UK's only roseate tern colony on mend

Evie Lake
BBC News, North East and Cumbria

Brian Burke
Roseate terns are at the highest level of conservation concern

A successful breeding season for a colony of one of the UK's rarest seabirds depleted by bird flu is giving conservationists "hope for the future".

Roseate terns on Coquet Island, off the Northumberland coast, saw a record number of 191 chicks hatched this year, with 92% going on to fledge.

The island hosts the only colony in the UK of the threatened species, which are ranked at the highest level of conservation concern.

But the RSPB said it was "too early" to say if it was a sign of recovery from the avian influenza of 2022 and 2023.

It is not known exactly how many died from the flu, but surveys revealed a 21% drop in the Coquet breeding since the outbreak.

The number of the birds returning to nest this year was also lower than in recent years.

The RSPB said the recovery process for the terns could take "many years" and the avian flu had "not gone away".

Brian Burke
The RSPB is hopeful the UK's only colony is on the mend

Conservationists said the 276 adult roseate terns seen on the island this year hatched during or before 2022, when the disease first took hold on the island.

There is hope some of the birds managed to survive the virus, but it is also possible some did not catch it.

Stephen Westerberg, RSPB Northumberland coast site manager, said knowing the birds had "such a successful breeding" gave the team "great hope for the future".

"There are still a lot of unknowns though, and we could see outbreaks of avian influenza in subsequent breeding seasons on Coquet."

He added "surveillance and preparedness" for outbreaks was key.

Trump's failure and the next pandemic

Thom Hartmann, AlterNet
November 28, 2024 

“The political folks believed that because [Covid] was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy.” —Vanity Fair’s Katherine Eban quoting Jared Kushner’s team in March, 2020

Arguably the most important aspect of political leadership is the ability to deal with a crisis.

The massive incompetence and malice of the Trump administration in 2020 led, for example, to the unnecessary deaths of an estimated half-million Americans. And now we may well be facing a repeat that could be even worse.


The flu pandemic of 1918-1920 was the result of a bird flu (H1N1) that mixed, presumably in a pig, with a human-adapted flu virus and then killed over 50 million people worldwide and almost 700,000 in America (when our population was only 100 million people; it’s 334 million today).

So far, every person in America who’s become infected with this generation’s bird flu (H5N1) has gotten it from an animal, mostly birds (particularly chickens). It’s so widespread in the US chicken population, in fact, that it’s largely responsible for the high price of eggs leading up to the election and today (so much for the GOP/media inflation talking point).

In Canada, though, the science journal Nature published a rather alarming story last week, writing:

“In a children’s hospital in Vancouver, Canada, a teenager is in critical condition after being infected with an avian influenza virus that has researchers on high alert.
“Viral genome sequences released last week suggest that the teenager is infected with an H5N1 avian influenza virus bearing mutations that might improve its ability to infect the human airway. If true, it could mean that the virus can rapidly evolve to make the jump from birds to humans.”

The teenager doesn’t work or even live near farms and has had no known contact with birds. And it appears that the virus that has her at death’s door is a recent mutation:
“But researchers have homed in on three key differences between those [normal bird flu] viruses and the teenager’s: two possible mutations that could enhance the virus’s ability to infect human cells, and another that could allow it to replicate more easily in human cells, not just in the cells of its usual avian host.”

There’s a broad scientific consensus that the H1N1 flu of 1918 acquired its ability to easily infect humans and transmit from person-to-person because a pig with a case of a random human flu virus (pigs are easily infected by people) was simultaneously infected with bird flu. The two viruses are believed to have swapped genes inside the pig, producing the deadly variation that killed millions worldwide (although the hypothesis is still being debated).

And just last month, here in Oregon, a pig farm discovered five of their pigs were sick with bird flu. Public health authorities immediately sealed off the farm and euthanized the pigs to prevent them from picking up a human flu virus, but this is a pretty stark warning.


Another concern is that with Covid we had a virus that was transmitted by air, but died almost immediately when it landed on surfaces we could touch. Nobody got it from buckling a seatbelt used by an infected person on a plane, eating from a plate handled by an infected restaurant worker, or touching a package handed to them by an infected Amazon delivery driver.

The flu, on the other hand, is easily transmitted by touch; it’s why people are advised to frequently wash their hands during flu season.

Nobody wants to create a panic, least of all me, but this is alarming. Even more alarming is that if this mutation (or others like it) spreads, the guys running our nation’s response to a second pandemic this decade will be vaccine-skeptic Bob Kennedy and herd immunity advocate Marty Makary.


Herd immunity is the theory that when enough people are infected with a disease, the survivors have leftover “natural” immunity; some advocates (like Makary) even suggest it’s superior to vaccine-induced immunity.

The problem with the argument for “natural” herd immunity in the case of Covid or a deadly flu is that the disease often kills people so only the survivors have immunity, whereas the vaccine confers immunity without killing people.

Herd immunity is a real thing; we saw it play out during the Black Death in Europe in the 1340s. After a third of all the people on the continent were dead, the remaining two-thirds appear to have a minor immunity, the traces of which are still found in their descendants’ genome today.


Relying on herd immunity to deal with Covid would require roughly 80 percent of all Americans to get infected, leading to at least an additional 1-2 million deaths here as well as more multiple millions of Americans suffering permanent disability from long Covid.

Nonetheless, Makary went so far as to publish an article in The Wall Street Journalin February of 2021 arguing, as the headline read, “We’ll Have Herd Immunity By April”:
“Some medical experts privately agreed with my prediction,” he wrote, “that there may be very little Covid-19 by April [2021] but suggested that I not to talk publicly about herd immunity because people might become complacent and fail to take precautions or might decline the vaccine. But scientists shouldn’t try to manipulate the public by hiding the truth.”

Last week, Trump appointed Makary to head up the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees the production and distribution of vaccines. Not reassuring.


And his boss, of course, could be even more problematic.

That’s the Bob Kennedy who Trump wants to head up the Department of Health and Human Services who argued that:
— Efforts to deal with Covid were part of a “biosecurity agenda that will enslave the entire human race”;

— The mRNA Covid vaccine was “the deadliest vaccine ever made”;
— The Covid virus was “ethnically targeted” to spare “Jews and Chinese people;”
— And efforts to mitigate the spread of Covid were “instruments of compliance for authoritarian regimes.”

Leadership matters, particularly during times of crisis. As do expertise, experience, and competence. Kennedy is a lawyer, not a physician; he has no medical training whatsoever.

We’re facing Russia’s threat to turn their attack on Ukraine into World War III, China’s increasing belligerence toward Taiwan with their spies well-lodged inside every major US phone company, and now the possibility of a new pandemic.

Given how, during the last pandemic, Jared Kushner advised Trump that it would be an “effective political strategy” to ignore the spreading virus and blame it on Blue state (WA, NJ, CT, NY) governors — and Trump took that advice for the first several months while the pandemic blossomed out of control — now might be a good time for us all to assess how prepared we are to go through this again.

Stock up on masks and essentials. Hand sanitizer and things like Vitamin D and Zinc that support the immune system. Consider what’s necessary to work from home.

And those Democratic governors who take science seriously should begin pandemic preparations for their states.


None of this necessitates panic; this time the government will be able to produce a flu vaccine much faster (once the virus finally mutates and stabilizes) than the yearlong wait we experienced in 2020 (assuming Kennedy and Makary don’t screw things up). We’d never before produced a vaccine against a coronavirus; flu vaccines have been produced worldwide since 1945.

As the old saying goes, forewarned is forearmed.

Bird flu in Canada: What to know about poultry and milk safety

By Nicole Ireland

 The Canadian Press
Posted November 15, 2024 

WATCH: British Columbia’s health ministry says the first suspected human case of avian influenza has been detected in Canada.


People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu — or highly pathogenic avian influenza — since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.

It’s not yet known how the teen got infected, but Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said on Wednesday that genomic sequencing shows they have a strain of H5N1 similar to the strains found in poultry farm outbreaks in British Columbia.

More than 20 locations with infected poultry have been identified in the province since the beginning of October, according to a news release posted recently on the B.C. government website.

The H5N1 strain the teen has is not the same genotype that’s been found in people who were infected by dairy cattle in the U.S., Tam said in an interview.

While there have been several outbreaks of bird flu on dairy farms in multiple states, the virus has not been detected on dairy farms anywhere in Canada.

3:37  H5N1 avian flu detected in teen




How do we know dairy cattle in Canada aren't infected with H5N1?

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been testing raw milk arriving at processing plants in each province for the bird flu virus.

It has also been testing pasteurized retail milk samples.

Tam said that like wastewater testing for viruses such as COVID-19 and seasonal flu, the milk testing aims to provide an “early warning” signal if H5N1 has reached dairy farms in Canada.

If H5N1 ends up in milk, is it still safe to drink?

Yes, as long as milk has been pasteurized, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says.

“In Canada, milk must be pasteurized before sale. The pasteurization process kills harmful bacteria and viruses, including HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza), ensuring milk and milk products are safe to drink and eat,” the CFIA website says.

Is it safe to eat poultry, eggs and beef?

Yes, as long as they are cooked thoroughly.

Where are the infected poultry farms in Canada?

As of Nov. 13, there were 28 infected poultry locations in British Columbia, two in Alberta and one in Saskatchewan, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s website.

Shayan Sharif, a pathobiology professor at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, said he believes H5N1 will reach poultry farms in other provinces.

“I hope to be proven wrong … but I think it’s probably going to come eastward in the not too distant future,” he told The Canadian Press.

1:53 What risk do zoonotic diseases pose?

What do you do when there is an H5N1 infection on a farm?

Farmers are required to notify the CFIA if they suspect their birds or livestock have avian flu

All poultry must be killed on farms that have tested positive for H5N1, said Sharif. But cattle don’t have to be killed, he said.

The virus can be spread through direct contact with infected animals, but can also spread through contaminated barns and other environments.

“Biosecurity” is one of the most important ways to stop the spread of avian flu between farms, Sharif said.

That means workers should wear personal protective equipment and change clothing when they enter and exit a farm where avian flu has been detected.

2:16  WHO says Bird flu risk to humans an ‘enormous concern,’ but what should you know?

It also means not sharing equipment between farms, as well as washing and disinfecting trucks delivering supplies and feed, he said.

Sharif said he supports offering avian flu vaccines to farm workers — a move that Finland has adopted.

Health Canada has authorized three influenza vaccines that could be used to protect against H5N1 avian flu.

Those vaccines are not currently available here, but Tam said public health officials are “very interested” in learning from Finland and are actively looking into the potential use of H5N1 vaccines as they monitor avian flu activity in Canada.

First presumptive human case of avian flu acquired in Canada detected in teen

November 09, 2024 

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks in Victoria on Thursday, March 10, 2022.

 British Columbia's Ministry of Health says the first suspected human case of bird flu contracted in Canada has been detected in B.C.

 THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

British Columbia’s Ministry of Health says the first suspected human case of bird flu contracted in Canada has been detected in B.C.

A statement from the office of the provincial health officer says a teenager in the region covered by Fraser Health tested positive for bird flu, and the teen is currently getting treatment at BC Children’s Hospital.

The statement says the positive test was done by the BC Centre for Disease Control, and samples are on their way to Winnipeg’s national microbiology lab for confirmatory testing

It says public health officials are also looking into the case to find the source of exposure and identify any contacts.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says it is “a rare event” and only a handful of cases of bird flu, caused by the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus, have been detected in humans in the U.S. and abroad.

The statement says the source of the teen’s exposure to the virus is very likely to be from an animal or bird, while public health officials and the province’s chief veterinarian investigate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

Province reports first presumptive positive human case of H5 avian influenza in BC and Canada

BC sees first case of bird flu

Casey Richardson - Nov 9, 2024 / 4:09 pm | Story: 516614

Photo: The Canadian Press

BC announced on Saturday afternoon that an individual in British Columbia had tested presumptive positive for avian influenza, also known as bird flu.

This was the first detection of avian influenza due to the H5 virus in a person in B.C.

The province said this is also the first detection of a presumed human case of H5 avian influenza acquired in Canada.

"The positive test for H5 was performed at the BC Centre for Disease Control's Public-Health Laboratory. Samples are being sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for confirmatory testing," the province added.

Currently, the individual, who is a teenager from the Fraser Health region, is receiving care at BC Children's Hospital.

The province said a public health investigation has begun to determine the source of exposure and identify any contacts.

"Our thoughts are with this young person and their family during this difficult time," said Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer in the news release.

"This is a rare event, and while it is the first detected case of H5 in a person in B.C. or in Canada, there have been a small number of human cases in the U.S. and elsewhere, which is why we are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure here in B.C."

Anyone who may have been exposed will be contacted by public health to assess for symptoms and provide guidance on testing and prevention measures.

There have been no further cases identified or reported at this time, according to the province.

B.C.'s chief veterinarian and public health teams are also investigating since the source of exposure is believed to be very likely an animal or bird.

The investigation involves public health teams from Fraser Health, BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory, BC Children's Hospital, the Office of the Provincial Health Officer, the Office of the Chief Veterinarian, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and others.

"Health, animal and environmental partners across B.C. have also been working together and with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and other national and U.S. partners to respond to the increased detections of H5N1 avian influenza in poultry farms and wild birds in the province since early October," the province said.

To protect yourself against avian influenza, the following prevention measures are recommended by the province:

• Stay up to date on all immunizations, especially the seasonal flu vaccine.
• Do not touch sick or dead animals or their droppings and do not bring sick wild animals into your home.
• Keep your pets away from sick or dead animals and their feces (poo).
• Report dead or sick birds or animals.
• For poultry or livestock, contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Animal Health office: https://inspection.canada.ca/en/about-cfia/contact-cfia-office-telephone#bc-animal(https://https://inspection.canada.ca/en/about-cfia/contact-cfia-office-telephone#bc-animal)
• For pets, contact your veterinarian or call the BC Animal Health Centre at 1 800 661-9903
• For wild birds, contact the BC Wild Bird Mortality Line: 1 866 431-2473
• For wild mammals, contact the BC Wildlife Health Program: 1 250 751-7246

For those who may have been exposed to sick or dead birds or animals or work on a farm where avian influenza has been detected, they are asked to watch for symptoms of influenza-like illness.

Symptoms within 10 days after exposure to sick or dead animals should be reported to a health-care provider, notifying them that you have been in contact with sick animals and are concerned about avian influenza.

"This will help them give you appropriate advice on testing and treatment. Stay home and away from others while you have symptoms."

H5N1 has been detected in wild birds, on poultry farms and among small wild mammals, including skunks and foxes within BC.

The province said most cases have been reported during migration season when wild birds carrying the virus are in high numbers.

"Since the beginning of October 2024, at least 22 infected poultry premises have been identified in B.C., along with numerous wild birds testing positive"

However, there have been no cases reported in dairy cattle and no evidence of avian influenza in samples of milk in BC or Canada.

"Influenza viruses are adaptable and can change when strains from humans or different animal species mix and exchange genetic information. Avian influenza could become more serious if the virus develops the ability to transmit from person to person, with potential for human-to-human transmission" the province said.

More information can be found online here.

 

Washington coast avian flu outbreak devastated Caspian terns, jumped to seals

Washington State University

 

image: 

The avian flu killed 1,101 adult Caspian terns and 520 chicks in 2023 in a large breeding colony on Rat Island in Washington state. Researchers estimate that as much as 10-14% of terns in the entire Pacific flyway have been lost to the virus.

view more 

Credit: Scott Pearson, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

PULLMAN, Wash. – An epidemiological study found that 56% of a large breeding colony of Caspian terns died from a 2023 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at Rat Island in Washington state. Since then, no birds have successfully bred on the island, raising concerns that the outbreak may have had a significant impact on an already declining Pacific-coast population.

As part of the study, a team including Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) as well as Washington State University researchers also documented that the avian flu virus H5N1was transmitted to harbor seals for the first time in the northeastern Pacific.

While there has not been another large coastal wildlife outbreak of H5N1 since, researchers estimated that about 10-14% of the Caspian tern population in the Pacific flyway have been lost to H5N1 infections.

“This Caspian tern event was the first big marine environment avian flu outbreak for Washington. It caused a significant, punctuated mortality for the Caspian terns, which were already a species in decline throughout this flyway,” said Katherine Haman, a wildlife veterinarian for WDFW and lead author on the study in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

Caspian terns are found across the country, and until a couple years ago, their largest breeding site was an island in the lower Columbia River, downstream from Portland. Because the birds were feasting on young, endangered salmon, they were discouraged from nesting on that island. It is likely that a portion of the extremely large Columbia River colony relocated to Rat Island near Fort Flagler Park in Jefferson County—then, came the avian flu in 2023.

Haman credited citizen volunteer docents from the Friends of Fort Flagler and local kayaking guides with noticing the first bird deaths on Rat Island early and alerting officials. This allowed researchers to respond early, collecting dead birds and euthanizing sick ones. A total of 1,101 adults and 520 chicks were killed by the outbreak.

The researchers also noted 15 dead harbor seals in the area which usually only sees 1 or 2 seal deaths a year. Through tissue samples, WSU researchers at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) were able to first identify H5N1 in the birds, but the tests in seals were harder to confirm.

“We tend to think of avian influenza as a respiratory disease, but the seal respiratory samples were initially negative for H5N1. That seemed odd because there was a relatively high mortality in the seals, and there were also birds that were sick at the same time,” said co-author Kevin Snekvik, a WSU veterinary pathologist and WADDL executive director.

Further testing in other organs revealed that avian flu had a different pathology in the harbor seals causing an inflammatory response in their brains. The team performed a whole genome sequencing of the virus confirming that the seals likely contracted the virus from the terns.

Avian influenza has been killing many seals and sea lions in other parts of the world, particularly in South America, but so far that same spread has not yet occurred in the Pacific Northwest. The consequences for the terns in the region, however, has been more dire. There is no vaccine or treatment yet available in the U.S. for animals impacted by the avian flu. It is difficult to control in wildlife given the rapid spread and the difficulty associated with capture and handling of wild animals, so at this stage, researchers are trying to gain insights on the spread of the disease in wild populations by tracking the spread and understanding the impact.

Human cases of avian flu in Washington and elsewhere in the U.S. have occurred primarily in agricultural workers who were in close contact with infected domestic animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The researchers emphasized that people should not touch sick or dying wildlife, and instead report the animals on WDFW’s website.

This research received support from the Washington state legislature, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Washington Department of Health, WDFW and WADDL. The study was made possible by a large collaboration including additional researchers from WSU and WDFW as well as Center Valley Animal Rescue, National Marine Fisheries Service, Pennsylvania State University, Washington Department of Health and University of California, Davis.

“The success of this study and the ongoing investigation is a result of a large number of organizations working together seamlessly. For wildlife investigations, it is absolutely paramount that we work across lines,” said co-author Tom Waltzek, a researcher with WADDL and WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.   

The population of Caspian terns were already in decline throughout the Pacific flyway when they suffered a major avian flu outbreak at a large breeding site off the coast of Washington state.

Credit

Scott Pearson, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

Researchers were able to respond early to the outbreak of avian flu among Caspian terns in 2023, thanks to the reports from local volunteers and kayaking guides. The event was the first major outbreak of H5N1 among marine wildlife in the region. An estimated 56% of the breeding colony was lost.

Credit

Katherine Haman, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

---

Journal

Frontiers in Veterinary Science

DOI

10.3389/fvets.2024.1483922 

Article Title

A comprehensive epidemiological approach documenting an outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus clade 2.3.4.4b among gulls, terns, and harbor seals in the Northeastern Pacific

Emperor penguin turns up on Australian beach, thousands of miles from home

The emperor penguin, pictured on Ocean Beach near Denmark, Western Australia.

 Supplied by DBCA via CNN Newsource

Jack Guy
Published Nov. 6, 2024

An emperor penguin surprised locals when it appeared on a beach in Australia after making an epic journey of thousands of miles from its home in Antarctica.

The penguin arrived on Ocean Beach in Denmark, Western Australia, on Friday, according to a statement from Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), sent to CNN on Wednesday.

A spokesperson described the penguin as “malnourished,” adding that the animal “remains in the care of a trained and registered local wildlife carer.”

“The rehabilitation process is expected to take a few weeks,” said the spokesperson, who added that the wildlife carer is being supported by a DBCA officer.

Ocean Beach is more than 2,200 miles (3540 km) due north of Antarctica, suggesting the penguin probably swam significantly further to reach Australia.

Belinda Cannell, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, told Australian public broadcaster ABC News that this is the first time an emperor penguin has been seen so far north.

The penguin may have followed a current north from Antarctica, she said.

“What they tend to do is follow certain currents where they’re going to find lots of different types of food,” Cannell told ABC.

“So maybe those currents have just tended to be a little bit further north towards Australia than they normally would.”

Local surfer Aaron Fowler told ABC that he saw the penguin emerging from the sea.

“It was massive, it was way bigger than a sea bird and we’re like, what is that thing coming out of the water? And it kind of had a tail sticking out like a duck,” Fowler said.

“It stood up in the waves and just waddled straight up to us, an emperor penguin, he was probably about a meter high, and he was not shy at all,” he added.


“He tried to do like a slide on his belly, thinking it was snow, I guess, and just face-planted in the sand and stood up and shook all the sand off,” Fowler said.

Emperor penguins are the tallest and heaviest of the 18 penguin species. They can weigh up to 88 pounds (40 kilograms) and stand 45 inches (1.1 metre) tall.

A female emperor lays one egg per breeding season, then passes it over to her male partner to incubate while she forages for food for about two months.

The animals are only found in the wild in Antarctica, but they are increasingly threatened by the climate crisis.

Emperor penguins rely on sea ice to form their breeding colonies, avoid predators in the ocean and forage for food. But as Earth’s temperature rises as a result of greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions, sea ice is at risk of disappearing.

Four out of five emperor penguin colonies analyzed in the Bellingshausen Sea, west of the Antarctic Peninsula, saw no chicks survive in 2022 as the area experienced an enormous loss of sea ice, according to a study published in August 2023.

This widespread “catastrophic breeding failure” is the first such recorded incident, according to the report, and supports grim predictions that more than 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be “quasi-extinct” by 2100 as the world warms.

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UK govt confirms bird flu outbreak in commercial poultry farm, raises alert level


The UK government said all poultry on the infected premises will be humanely culled. — Reuters pic

Wednesday, 06 Nov 2024 

LONDON, Nov 6 — The UK government said yesterday that cases of bird flu had been confirmed in commercial poultry at premises in Yorkshire, hours after it increased the risk level of the disease from medium to high.

All poultry on the infected premises will be humanely culled, and a three-kilometre protection zone had been put in place surrounding the premises, it said in a statement.

Bird flu, or avian influenza, which has killed hundreds of millions of birds around the globe in recent years, has increasingly spread to mammals, raising concerns it may lead to human-to-human transmission.

Earlier in the day, the government raised its alert level after two different strains of the virus, H5N5 and H5N1, were detected in wild birds in the country over the autumn, according to a government update yesterday.

Britain, which had increased the threat level to medium in mid-October, has experienced several bird flu outbreaks over the years, including one in 2021 that was then described as the largest-ever in the country. — Reuters

ZOONOSIS

US Officials raise alarm over spreading mosquito-borne ‘triple E’ virus

Nada Hassanein, Stateline
October 16, 2024 

Mosquito On Human Skin (Shutterstock)

Mosquito-borne illnesses are a growing concern in Northeastern states, with health officials monitoring cases and advising residents to avoid outdoor activities near standing water and other environments prone to mosquito spread.

Of particular concern is eastern equine encephalitis, a rare disease that can lead to serious and fatal illness, caused by mosquitoes carrying the virus.

Known as EEE or “triple E,” the virus can cause disease in humans and animals such as horses and birds. It doesn’t spread from human to human, but is transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito.

While most people don’t develop symptoms or serious illness, 1 in 3 people who become seriously ill from the virus die, and about half of those who recover from severe cases will still experience long-term physical and cognitive effects, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms can include fever, headache, vomiting and drowsiness. Encephalitis is a rare and serious complication in which the infection causes inflammation in the brain.

Eight states — Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin — have reported human cases of the virus this year, for a total of 16 cases, according to the latest CDC data. Other states have seen cases in animals only. In Maine this year, triple E was found in two emus and one wild bird.
Tuberculosis cases rise, but public health agencies say they lack the resources to keep up

In August, Massachusetts officials said they would begin spraying for mosquitoes in two counties after a man in his 80s contracted the virus, four years after the state last saw an outbreak that led to 17 confirmed cases and seven deaths.

Also in August, New Hampshire confirmed its first EEE death this year; it was the first infection the state had seen in a decade, according to state health officials. So far this year, the state has confirmed five total cases in humans, and the disease has been detected in one horse and seven mosquito batches. The state last saw infections in 2014, when three people were infected and two of them died.

Preventive steps

In recent weeks, New York confirmed its first case and death since 2015. The death in Ulster County, about 100 miles north of New York City, prompted Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to issue a declaration of imminent threat to public health, and to provide state resources to local health agencies to take preventive action, including mosquito spraying.

The state also is making insect repellent available at state parks and campgrounds; posting signs to raise awareness of EEE; consulting with local health officials about limiting park hours and camping availability during dawn and dusk, the hours of peak mosquito activity; and using social media to educate New Yorkers on how to avoid mosquito bites.

State officials said the person who died in Ulster County was an older adult, but wouldn’t share details as they investigate factors around the case.


Bryon Backenson, epidemiologist and director of the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, said about a dozen counties throughout the state take part in mosquito surveillance, but rural Ulster County wasn’t one of them.

While the virus doesn’t spread from horses to humans, researchers keep track of EEE cases in horses to determine how prevalent the virus is in a particular area.


Horses, in many ways, can act as sentinels for us. We can oftentimes use horses as an indication that triple E may be in a particular area at a particular time.


– Bryon Backenson, epidemiologist and director of the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Communicable Disease Control


This year, there were 20 cases of EEE reported in horses across about a dozen New York counties. The state has never had so many cases, nor in so many counties, in a single year, Backenson said.

“Horses, in many ways, can act as sentinels for us,” Backenson said. “We can oftentimes use horses as an indication that triple E may be in a particular area at a particular time. If a horse tests positive, we know that there are mammal-biting mosquitoes that are out there and active.”

Ulster County did have a horse case that preceded the human case, but that horse wasn’t in close proximity to where the individual lived, Backenson noted.

As bird flu spreads on dairy farms, an ‘abysmal’ few workers are tested

Philip Armstrong, chief scientist at the Center for Vector Biology & Zoonotic Diseases at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, said while his state hasn’t seen cases, the regional clusters are cause for vigilance.

“This is definitely one of the more active years,” he said. “I would say, about every four or five years, we see these sort of regional outbreaks that occur.”

Armstrong said his team is still collecting and testing mosquitoes.

“So far, we are lucky in Connecticut in that we have not had a human case,” he said. “But sometimes these things come out of the woodwork later in the season — you just don’t know. I’m not ready to declare victory yet.”
Climate change’s impact


There is no human vaccine or medicine for triple E. Experts say residents can protect themselves by using insect repellent and wearing long sleeves and pants when going outside; avoiding the outdoors at dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active or taking extra precautions when outside at those times; and draining sources of standing water, such as bird baths and wheelbarrows, a prime environment for mosquito egg-laying.

Dr. Erin Staples, a physician and medical epidemiologist with the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases in Fort Collins, Colorado, told Stateline the U.S. typically sees an average of seven cases annually. In 2019, the nation saw 38 cases — the highest number of cases ever reported in a year.

Climate change poses health risks. But it’s hard to fight when state policy ignores it.


Climate change can increase risk of vector-borne diseases, including those from mosquitoes, as increased rainfall and warmer temperatures create favorable conditions that can boost their populations.

While it’s not unusual to see sporadic infections of triple E or West Nile virus from year to year, Staples said, changes in bird and mosquito populations and weather patterns can affect the number of cases.

“Climate is one of many factors that can impact vector-borne diseases. Changes in climate lead to changes in the environment, which can change where and how often vector-borne diseases, like EEE and West Nile, occur,” Staples wrote in an email, noting that flooding can also change where cases are seen.


Sen Pei, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said along with rising temperatures that can cause expansion of mosquito habitats, climate change-related disasters such as hurricanes can alter how and where people live. Officials should monitor for vector-borne diseases after disasters.

“It’s a systematic impact. Vector-borne disease is such a complicated ecosystem,” he said.



Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and X.

Bird flu kills 47 tigers, three lions and a panther at Vietnamese zoos

Sarah Newey
Thu 3 October 2024 

Test results confirmed that the big cats died ‘because of H5N1 type A virus’ - SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images


A panther, three lions and 47 tigers have died from bird flu in zoos in southern Vietnam, further raising concerns about the potential for the virus to evolve to better infect humans.

The fatalities took place in two zoos in August and September near Ho Chi Minh City, state media has reported, and test results from the National Centre for Animal Health Diagnosis later confirmed that the big cats died “because of H5N1 type A virus”. No staff members displayed symptoms.

Experts said the animals likely caught the virus after eating meat from infected poultry.


“Immediate suspicion would be that the zoo animals were infected through whatever they have been given to eat, for example fed chickens that had H5N1,” said Prof Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong.

He added that this is not common, but that big cats have caught avian influenza before. As the pathogen spread across southeast Asia in 2003 and 2004 – fatally infecting 24 people – two tigers and two leopards also contracted H5N1 at a zoo in Thailand.

But the latest cases come amid mounting uneasiness as bird flu jumps into more and more mammals – including seals, red red foxes and bears – providing space for it to potentially evolve to better infect humans.

“Although avian influenza primarily affects poultry and wild birds, infections in mammals raise concerns about the virus’ potential to adapt and spread across species,” said Dr Bolortuya Purevsuren, a project officer at World Organisation for Animal Health’s southeast Asia office, adding that the Vietnam cross-species infections will be closely monitored.

On a global scale, experts are especially concerned about the seemingly unstoppable outbreak of bird flu in cattle in the United States, where 244 herds in 14 states have been infected – plus at least 14 people. Though these cases have so far been mild, scientists are racing to determine whether there has been human-to-human transmission.

In that outbreak, too, felines have been badly hit – the US Department of Agriculture has detected 43 cases in domestic cats so far this year, with many of them infected after drinking H5 contaminated cows milk.

“So definitely felines seem to be more susceptible to H5N1 than some other mammals,” said Prof Ian Barr, deputy director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in Melbourne.

Dr Charin Modchang, an specialist in disease modelling and epidemiology at Mahidol University in Bangkok, added that he was surprised to see tigers, leopards and panthers infected given the reports of H5 in domestic cats.

“But, from the evolutionary perspective, if the virus can infect and adapt to new mammalian hosts, this should be a concern, as infections in mammals can lead to adaptations that make the virus better suited for mammalian hosts, which are closer to humans than birds,” he said.

“As far as I know, most mammalian H5N1 cases are usually ‘dead-end’ infections with little onward transmission. So the important question is, is this also the case for these tiger infections? How did the tigers get infected, and were there any tiger-to-tiger transmission of the virus? I think we need to find out.”

 

Review shows bird flu control strategies ‘not working’

Gaps in data highlight potential for silent spread

The Pirbright Institute

 

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A chicken 

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Credit: The Pirbright Institute

A review of sustained mammal-to-mammal bird flu transmission in diverse species, led by The Pirbright Institute, shows global control strategies are not working.

Writing in Nature, researchers analysed whether outbreaks in European fur farms, South American marine mammals and United States dairy cattle raise questions about whether humans are next. Led by zoonotic influenza specialist Dr Thomas Peacock, the scientists evaluated how recent changes in the ecology and molecular evolution of H5N1 in wild and domestic birds increase opportunities for spillover to mammals.

They also weighed various evolutionary pathways that could turn the global H5N1 influenza panzootic into a human pandemic virus.

“Influenza A viruses (IAV) have caused more documented global pandemics in human history than any other pathogen. Historically, swine are considered optimal intermediary hosts that help avian influenza viruses adapt to mammals before jumping to humans,” said Dr Peacock, who investigates the drivers of the current H5N1 avian influenza panzootic. “However, the altered ecology of H5N1 has opened the door to new evolutionary pathways.”

The review highlights potential gaps in control mechanisms, including a reluctance to engage with modern vaccine and surveillance technologies and a dearth of data collection around the transmission of H5N1 between cows and to humans on US dairy farms.

Whilst previous generations of US cattle producers had eradicated foot-and-mouth disease by rapidly sharing epidemiological data, the authors say months of missing data is leaving researchers, veterinarians, and policy makers in the dark.

“H5N1 is a reportable disease in poultry, but not mammals, in the US. The US Department of Agriculture requires H5N1 testing only in lactating cattle prior to interstate movement,” said Dr Peacock.

Current practices for H5N1 testing in wildlife focus on carcasses, not monitoring animals whilst alive, the paper notes, providing opportunities for variants of H5N1 to spread silently undetected.

“What keeps scientists up at night is the possibility of unseen chains of transmission silently spreading through farm worker barracks, swine barns, or developing countries, evolving under the radar because testing criteria are narrow, government authorities are feared, or resources are thin.”

An evolutionary process of “genomic reassortment” in viruses with segmented genomes is driving the global panzootic outbreak. When two or more viruses co-infect a single host, they can swap entire segments during genome replication to create novel hybrids.

The reassortment between H5N8 and low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) viruses that generated the panzootic H5N1 virus in the Americas is believed to have occurred in Europe or central Asia around 2020, infecting South American marine mammals and US dairy cattle.

The writers say the prospect of H5N1 becoming continually present in Europe and the Americas is a turning point for High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI).

“New control strategies are needed, including vaccination. Influenza vaccines are licensed for poultry that reduce disease burden, but do not prevent infection and have varying degrees of success.”

Stocks of H5 vaccine that are antigenically related to circulating viruses are available and could be produced at scale using mRNA platforms if H5N1 begins spreading in humans, the authors note.

“The severity of a future H5N1 pandemic remains unclear. Recent human infections with H5N1 have a substantially lower case fatality rate compared to prior H5N1 outbreak in Asia, where half of people with reported infections died. The lack of severity in US cases may be due to infection through the eye, rather than through viral pneumonia in the lung.”

Older people appear to have partial immunity to H5N1 due to childhood exposure, whereas younger people born since the 1968 H3N2 pandemic may be more susceptible to severe disease in a H5N1 pandemic.

Dr Peacock’s work is funded by UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) via the Pirbright Institute’s Strategic Programme Grants (ISPGs)  and the UK Medical Research Council / Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs FluTrailMap One Health consortium, and the BBSRC/DEFRA ‘FluTrailMap’ consortium.

Read the Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08054-z

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08054-z

 

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Journal

Nature

DOI

10.1038/s41586-024-08054-z 

Method of Research

Literature review

Article Title

The global H5N1 panzootic in mammals

Article Publication Date

24-Sep-2024