Bird flu is now passing between mammals Researchers have tracked transmission between dairy cows, and from cows to cats and a raccoon The cats and raccoon likely drank raw milk from infected cows THURSDAY, July 25, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The bird flu is now jumping between species of mammals, a step that draws the virus closer to hopping into human beings, a new study warns. Researchers have tracked transmission of avian between dairy cows in herds, as well as from cows to cats and a raccoon. “This is one of the first times that we are seeing evidence of efficient and sustained mammalian-to-mammalian transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1,” said senior researcher , director of the Virology Laboratory at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center in the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Still, genetic analysis of the virus did not reveal any mutations that would lead to enhanced transmissibility of H5N1 in humans, Diel said. The findings were published July 25 in the journal However, mammal-to-mammal transmission does raise concerns that the virus might eventually adapt to spreading in humans, Diel said. So far, 11 human cases have been reported in the United States, with the first dating back to April 2022, researchers said.
Four human cases are linked to cattle farms and seven to poultry farms, including an , researchers said. These recent human cases contracted the same bird flu strain identified in the study as the one circulating in dairy c.