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Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 12 (ANI): The World Health Organisation has confirmed the human case of <keyword id="3653784" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bird-flu-in-india" source="Orion">bird flu in India</keyword>, after the <keyword id="15897682" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="H9N2-virus" source="Orion">H9N2 virus</keyword> was detected in a four-year child in West Bengal. Overall, this is the second <keyword id="21166335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-infection" source="keywords">human infection</keyword> of <keyword id="2663051" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Avian-Influenza-A" source="Orion">avian influenza A</keyword> (H9N2) notified to WHO from India, with the first being done in 2019. The child has recovered and was discharged from the hospital. WHO received a notification from the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point (NFP) for India, regarding a human case of avian influenza A(H9N2) virus infection in West Bengal, the health body said in a press release. "The patient is a 4-year-old child residing in West Bengal state. The case, previously diagnosed with hyperreactive airway disease, initially presented to the paediatrician with fever and abdominal pain on 26 January 2024. He developed seizures on January 29 after which he was brought to the same paediatrician. The patient was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) of a local hospital due to the persistence of severe respiratory distress, recurrent high-grade fever and abdominal cramps. The patient tested positive for influenza B and adenovirus. He was discharged from the hospital on February 28 but with a recurrence of severe respiratory distress, he was referred to another government hospital and was admitted to the pediatric ICU and intubated on March 3. His nasopharyngeal swab was sent to the Kolkata Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory and tested positive for influenza A (not sub-typed) and rhinovirus. On April 26, the sample was sub-typed as influenza A(H9N2) through a real-time polymerase chain reaction. The patient was discharged from the hospital with oxygen support on May 1. WHO said that the infected patient had exposure to poultry at home and in the surroundings. It, however, also affirmed there were no known persons reporting symptoms of respiratory illness in the family, the neighbourhood, or among healthcare workers at health facilities attended by the case at the time of reporting. The health body further warned that sporadic human cases could occur in the future as this virus is "one of the most prevalent avian influenza viruses circulating in poultry in different regions." Animal influenza viruses normally circulate in animals but can also infect humans. Infections in humans have primarily been acquired through direct contact with infected animals or through indirect contact with contaminated environments. Depending on the original host, influenza A viruses can be classified as avian influenza, swine influenza, or other types of animal influenza viruses, the WHO stated in the release. The health body further said that it is providing continued support to the government of India through technical advice, updates on risk assessment and updating contingency plans- both in the human and animal sectors in line with the global guidance.

WHO confirms human case of bird flu in India! H9N2 virus detected in a four-year child in West Bengal

The <keyword id="22667872" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mpox-outbreak" source="keywords">mpox outbreak</keyword> in <keyword id="19924003" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="africa" source="keywords">Africa</keyword> is yet another example of how <keyword id="20040661" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="infectious-diseases" source="keywords">infectious diseases</keyword>, perceived to be "someone else's problem", and affecting mainly poor, developing countries, may suddenly pose unexpected global threats. Other examples of <keyword id="22817243" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="neglected-diseases" source="keywords">neglected diseases</keyword> include the West Nile, Zika and Chikungunya viruses. Mpox was discovered in 1958 (in captive monkeys, hence the original misnomer "monkeypox") and the first human case was identified in 1970. Then, for decades it was largely neglected by the scientific and public health communities, regarded as an uncommon infection in remote rural areas in tropical Africa, without relevance for the rest of the world. When a massive mpox outbreak hit developed countries in 2022, increased research funding led to a surge in scientific studies. On just one medical search engine, there's been more research produced since April 2022 than in the preceding 60 years. The 2022-23 global mpox outbreak happened despite repeated calls from African researchers for increased global investment in diagnostic, therapeutic and infection prevention tools for mpox. The WHO has now declared the current upsurge of mpox in central Africa a <keyword id="21952478" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-health-emergency" source="keywords">public health emergency</keyword> of international concern. This is the highest alert level for events that constitute a public health risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response. Mpox's recent history is yet another reminder that an infectious disease in one corner of the world should not be regarded as someone else's problem, as it can suddenly start to spread fast and far. It also highlights global inequities in resource allocation and access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments. These were made available in many industrialised countries and helped curb the global outbreak, but are still largely lacking in most of Africa. <h2>The 2022 outbreak: a total surprise</h2>The disease has been renamed "mpox" but the name of the virus, for now, remains "monkeypox" (MPXV). It is closely related to the smallpox virus. MPXV was considered a <keyword id="21311828" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zoonotic-disease" source="keywords">zoonotic disease</keyword> endemic in parts of central and west Africa. It was acquired mainly through close contact with wild mammals, especially handling bush meat, but there was no sustained human-to-human transmission. Only very occasionally were cases seen outside the endemic areas, due to infected travellers or import of infected small mammals. This changed abruptly in 2022: a massive, rapidly evolving global outbreak caused over 99,000 laboratory-confirmed cases in 116 countries. At its peak in August 2022, over 6,000 cases were reported each week. This outbreak came as a total surprise: most cases were reported from non-endemic countries, mostly in men who have sex with men, who had become infected during recent sexual encounters. Even though most cases were clinically not particularly severe and the death toll stands at just over 200, the global outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-health-organization" source="keywords">World Health Organization</keyword> on 23 July, 2022. Fortunately, case numbers soon plummeted due to a combination of behavioural changes and vaccination in at-risk groups. Modern vaccines and antiviral drugs with activity against mpox were made available in many affected high-income countries. These had been developed and stockpiled in the US and Europe, mostly in preparation for a potential bioweapon attack using a poxvirus. The global outbreak in 2022 was caused by clade II of MPXV, which is endemic in west Africa and not as virulent as clade I MPXV, which so far has only been seen in the Congo Basin. That first mpox public health emergency of international concern was declared over in May 2023. Clade II MPXV infections are still occurring globally, but the worst seems over - for now. Complacency would be misguided, as illustrated by the current mpox outbreak that is gathering steam. <h2>Upsurge in Africa</h2>The African region is experiencing an upsurge in mpox cases, which started in 2023. As the continent which includes the areas where mpox has been endemic for a long time, Africa now presents a complex mosaic. The current clade I MPXV (formerly called Congo Basin strain) is more virulent than the clade II (west African) strain, resulting in a higher case fatality rate. The ongoing outbreak has its epicentre in South Kivu province, eastern DRC, and has the potential to fuel a large pandemic. It has a distinct epidemiological pattern with sustained chains of human-to-human transmission, often via the sexual route. It may have increased transmissibility (we don't know yet). The virus which causes it is the newly defined clade Ib lineage. It displays mutations that are the hallmark of human-to-human spread that is estimated to have been happening since September 2023. Case numbers are rising rapidly, even though many suspected cases are likely not tested and thus not counted as confirmed. Complicating matters, a commonly used test was found to miss infections with this lineage of the virus. It affects mostly adults. The case fatality rate is higher than it was in the 2022 global outbreak. Already, this outbreak has resulted in mpox cases occurring in several neighbouring countries, including some (like Kenya), with no previous record of mpox. The challenge is enormous. The eastern DRC is an area beset by multiple problems. This includes natural disasters, violence and infectious diseases including measles, cholera and poliomyelitis for the DRC. In recent years the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever took place in the wider area and, despite the availability of vaccines and treatments, posed considerable challenges. <h2>What needs to happen</h2>Equitable access to diagnostic tests, vaccines and antiviral treatments requires political commitment and financial investments. Scientific investigations are needed to learn more about exposure settings, transmission routes and clinical presentations. It's important to find the best ways to make these interventions. There is no doubt that a disease in one corner of the world can suddenly become a global heath threat. It's time the global health system woke up to this reality.

Mpox outbreak in Africa was neglected - it could now turn into the next global pandemic

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A pig has tested positive for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">H5N1 bird flu</a> in a backyard farm in Oregon.</li><li>Pigs can host both bird and human flu viruses, which can make them a dangerous "mixing bowl."</li></ul>A bird flu virus has jumped one species <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/h5n1-bird-flu-virus-experts-concerned-human-outbreak-spread-possible-2024-6">closer to a human outbreak</a>.The H5N1 <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/avian-flu-has-made-organic-eggs-cheaper-than-conventional-ones-2022-12">bird flu</a> was detected in a pig in Oregon, the first instance of a swine infection in the US, officials announced on Wednesday.Pigs get both bird flu viruses and human flu viruses, making them a genetic mixing bowl where H5N1 could gain <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-hiv-had-coronavirus-216-days-virus-mutated-2021-6">genetic mutations</a> that help it spread between humans.That's not inevitable, but "I would say the concern elevated slightly with this pig infection," Stacey Schultz-Cherry, a virus expert at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the deputy director of a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-says-millions-died-covid-pandemic-global-health-systems-2022-5">World Health Organization</a> center on animal and bird influenza, told Business Insider.<h2 id="d1cf7120-d282-47b7-81ca-5de40e2d7544">The 'animal pandemic' that could jump to humans</h2>This strain of bird flu has killed tens of millions of birds worldwide since 2020 and more than 40,000 sea lions and seals in South America. World Health Organization chief scientist Jeremy Farrar has called this an "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-viruses-scientists-are-watching-for-the-next-pandemic-2022-4">animal pandemic</a>."<div type="image" title="two people in white biohazard suits with masks and goggles handle a vial on a beach next to a dead porpoise" height="1500" width="2249" msid="114818661" hostid="261" sizebytes="166630"></div>Earlier this year, it made an unexpected <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-cattle-outbreak-repeat-mistakes-former-surgeon-general-warning-2024-4">jump into US cattle herds</a>.Since then, H5N1 has even <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-virus-h5n1-new-human-case-michigan-respiratory-symptoms-2024-6">infected a few humans</a> who work closely with livestock in the US. But there has been no sign of sustained human-to-human transmission. Pigs could change that.<h2 id="bc8980f4-6384-4658-be8f-7431e95db3eb">Meet the first infected pig</h2>The US Department of Agriculture <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/federal-state-veterinary-agencies-share-update-hpai-detections-oregon">reported</a> that the infected pig was living in a "backyard farming operation" which is now quarantined.Two other pigs on the farm have tested negative for H5N1, while results are still pending for two others. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-chicken-anxiety-how-to-tell-poultry-is-cooked-2023-8">Poultry</a> there have also tested positive."There is no concern about the safety of the nation's pork supply as a result of this finding," the USDA reported, saying that the pigs at this farm were not intended for commercial <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-eggs-meat-milk-dairy-safety-during-outbreak-2024-4">food supplies</a>.Because of the backyard setting, this case doesn't pose the same major outbreak risk as an infection in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-skyscraper-farm-slaughter-1-million-pigs-a-year-2022-11">commercial pig farm</a>."If it starts to spread from pigs to pigs, then it's much more of a problem," Florian Krammer, a flu virologist at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine in New York, told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/10/30/h5n1-bird-flu-found-in-oregon-pig-reassortment-threat-human-transmission/">STAT News</a>. "If it ends up in large pig populations in the US similar to cows, I think this would be a disaster."<h2 id="d7d01e9a-980c-4e8e-8e39-4d09d0ecc0cf">Why pig infection could be a tipping point</h2><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/super-pigs-bred-in-canada-escaped-captivity-now-invading-us-2023-4">Pigs</a> play host to both bird flu viruses and human flu viruses. That makes them a dangerous playground for the two to swap genes.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/past-noncompliance-barred-pig-transplant-patient-from-human-heart-2022-1">Inside a pig</a>, the H5N1 bird flu virus could pick up genetic mutations that help it adapt to better infect human bodies.<div type="image" title="h5n1 virus microscope image shows black and white long straight worm-shaped organism" height="1500" width="2250" msid="114818658" hostid="261" sizebytes="157400"></div>The more pigs are infected, the greater this risk is. However, Schultz-Cherry said, "we would not need to see pig-to-pig transmission to worry about this mixing vessel or this mixing bowl effect." There's no other animal "at the top of the list" with pigs, Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude and director of the WHO animal and bird flu center, told BI in June. That could just be due to gaps in our understanding of animal influenza. After all, he added, "a few months ago, I would have told you that cows don't get flu."<h2 id="7a4f46f3-5945-4643-8803-01a4a97b4066">Bad timing: Flu season is in full swing</h2>The timing of this development is "not ideal," Schultz-Cherry said, because it's the middle of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tell-which-virus-you-have-flu-covid-rsv-symptoms-2022-12">flu season</a>, and pigs can get the strains of flu that circulate among humans.If this season's flu strains were to overlap with a pig H5N1 infection, that would increase the risk of gene-swapping that helps the bird flu adapt to humans."Really it would just take one pig," Schultz-Cherry said.Getting your seasonal flu vaccine can help, though, especially if you're in contact with cows, pigs, or poultry. Schultz-Cherry said that's because vaccination reduces the amount of flu circulating through the population.<div type="image" title="Flu Vaccine" height="1220" width="1639" msid="114818656" hostid="261" sizebytes="95142"></div><h2 id="09d4fd9c-f4e2-4a2a-ad87-8f1c71a7d750">Genomic detective work</h2>Schultz-Cherry was surprised by the pig news but, she said, "I guess I shouldn't be."The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-cows-milk-spread-study-suggests-how-to-stop-2024-6">virus is circulating in cattle</a>, chickens, wild birds, and cats all over the country. Mice have tested positive.Just sharing a drinking water source with these animals could put a pig at risk. The USDA reported that livestock and poultry on the Oregon farm shared water sources, shelter, and other equipment.Now that officials have samples of the virus that infected the pig, they can sequence its genome. That could hint at which animal it first came from.Scientists will likely look for mutations in the virus that could help it infect humans more easily, such as a tweak that makes it attach to more mammal-type receptors in a host animal's cells."It was one pig," Schultz-Cherry said. "But it is something that will lead to increased monitoring of the situation."

Bird flu was detected in a pig, and it could be a tipping point threatening more human transmission

Los Angeles [US], February 27 (<keyword id="19904948" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ani" source="keywords">ANI</keyword>): According to a study, vapers are susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and continues to infect people all over the world. The liquid used in electronic cigarettes, known as e-liquid, often contains nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and flavour compounds. The researchers discovered that propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin, either alone or in combination with nicotine, increased COVID-19 infection via various routes. The results of the study are published in the American Journal of Physiology. The researchers also found that the addition of benzoic acid to e-liquids prevents the infection caused by propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and nicotine. "Users who vape aerosols produced from propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin alone or e-liquids with a neutral to basic pH are more likely to be infected by the virus, while users who vape aerosols made from e-liquids with benzoic acid -- an acidic pH -- will have the same viral susceptibility as individuals who do not vape," said <keyword id="20741903" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rattapol-phandthong" source="keywords">Rattapol Phandthong</keyword>, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology and the research paper's first author. The researchers obtained airway stem cells from human donors to produce a 3D tissue model of human bronchial epithelium. They then exposed the tissues to JUUL and <keyword id="20000547" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="blu" source="keywords">BLU</keyword> electronic cigarette aerosols to study the effect on SARS-CoV-2 infection. They found all tissues showed an increase in the amount of ACE2, a host cell receptor for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Further, TMPRSS2, an enzyme essential for the virus to infect cells, was found to show increased activity in tissues exposed to aerosols with nicotine. <keyword id="20741904" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prue-talbot" source="keywords">Prue Talbot</keyword>, a professor of the graduate division and Phandthong's advisor, said e-cigarette users should be cautious about vaping as some products will increase their susceptibility to SARs-CoV-2 infection. "It would probably be best for vapers to quit vaping for the protection of their health and to stop nicotine dependency," she said. "If they cannot stop vaping, it is better to vape aerosols produced from an e-liquid with acidic pH or with benzoic acid to prevent the enhanced SARS-CoV-2 infection caused by nicotine, propylene glycol, and vegetable glycerin. However, inhalation of benzoic acid has its own risk, and data is still limited on this topic." The researchers acknowledge that the relationship between e-cigarettes and SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility is complex. "The complexity is attributed to a wide range of available e-liquids, the chemical composition of each e-liquid, and different models of e-cigarettes," Phandthong said. "Our study only used Classic Tobacco Flavor JUUL e-cigarette and BLU Classic Tobacco e-cigarette. Even with just these two e-cigarettes, we found the aerosols and individual ingredients produced different effects on SARS-CoV-2 infection." Phandthong and <keyword id="20266784" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="talbot" source="keywords">Talbot</keyword> hope the Food and Drug Administration will use their findings to implement regulatory laws on e-cigarette products. "Our findings could also help improve the design of clinical trials involving the use of tobacco products and SARS-CoV-2 infection," Phandthong said. "In the meantime, it is worth bearing in mind that the scientific literature has shown that a vaper who contracted SARS-CoV-2 has more complications during the recovery period and is more likely to develop long COVID-19, which can be serious and last many months post-infection. We hope our findings encourage vapers to stop vaping and discourage non-users from starting to vape." Phandthong acknowledged the team only investigated the initial stage of SARS-CoV-2 infection. "There are many later stages involved in infection, such as viral replication," he said. "Likely, these additional stages can also be affected by inhalation of e-cigarette aerosols." (ANI)

Vaping can enhance vulnerability to infection with SARS-CoV-2: Study

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The H5N1 bird-flu virus has infected a third person in the US, this time with respiratory symptoms.</li><li>The new patient's cough and sore throat could help the virus get better at infecting humans.</li></ul>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-cattle-outbreak-repeat-mistakes-former-surgeon-general-warning-2024-4">H5N1 bird-flu virus</a> has once again infected a human. But this time, the unlucky patient had a cough and a sore throat, which is a new milestone for the virus's spread in the US.The H5N1 virus has become a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">pandemic among animals</a>, raging through worldwide bird populations and now through US cattle herds.This latest human case, which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Thursday, is the third known human case in the US, following one in Texas and another in Michigan.All three people are dairy-farm workers who were exposed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-virus-chickens-cows-human-food-outbreaks-pandemic-2024-5">infected cows</a>, according to the CDC.The first two cases, however, involved only eye symptoms, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/treatments/pink-eye-treatment">conjunctivitis or pink eye</a>. That means the infection was probably limited to their eyes. Now, it has hit someone's lungs.The risk to the general public is still low, the CDC says, but these new symptoms suggest the virus may have entered a new phase of its flirtation with human infection.<h2 id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">Lungs give the virus more opportunity to adapt to humans</h2>The St. Jude virologist Richard Webby is a leading researcher on an H5 group of influenza viruses, which have been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/egg-prices-poised-to-spike-again-thanks-to-avian-flu-2023-12">circulating in bird populations</a> for about 25 years.Since 2021, the H5N1 virus has branched out to new frontiers of sustained spread, infecting dolphins and porpoises, migrating to the Americas, culling sea lions and seals, and now spreading through <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beef-prices-higher-drought-fewer-cattle-less-meat-2022-8">US cattle herds</a>.<div type="image" title="two people in white biohazard suits with masks and goggles handle a vial on a beach next to a dead porpoise" height="1500" width="2249" msid="110684142" hostid="261"></div>"This virus keeps on turning up surprises," Webby, who directs the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, told Business Insider. "Had you asked me, beginning of the year, what the chances are of H5 turning up in cows, I would have said exceedingly low."Still, he said, H5N1 is still more of a bird virus than a mammalian virus. That's mainly because of the receptors it binds to in order to enter its hosts' cells and replicate itself."Avian viruses bind to one form of this receptor on the host cell. Mammalian viruses bind to a different form," Webby said.The mucus lining the human eye (where the first farmworker got conjunctivitis) is rich in the receptors that avian viruses grab, he said. There, the H5N1 virus can continue operating as an avian virus, grabbing avian receptors with no need to adapt to human receptors.But our respiratory tracts are full of both forms of this receptor — the form preferred by avian viruses and the one preferred by mammalian viruses. Therefore, being in the lungs gives H5N1 more exposure to the receptors that mammalian viruses use, Webby said.That gives H5N1 more opportunity to sustain a mutation that would allow it to bind to those mammalian receptors, adapting better to human bodies.That's the concern, but it's not clear whether that has actually happened inside this patient's lungs. For such a mutation to be significant, it would then have to spread to other people as well. So far, based on all known cases, the virus has been unable to spread from one person to another.<h2 id="151bdecc-20ab-4244-9dd5-9542f3aca984">Sequencing the virus tests for mutations</h2>In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/02/opinion/bird-flu-case-respiratory.html">New York Times</a> opinion piece on Sunday, the virologist Rick Bright argued that the emergence of respiratory symptoms indicated "a dangerous inflection point" for the virus.After all, he wrote, "coughing can spread viruses more easily than eye irritation can."<div type="image" title="A man coughing" height="1439" width="2084" msid="110684144" hostid="261"></div>But for Webby, the Michigan patient's cough "doesn't change a whole lot."Two previous one-off human cases of H5N1 — one in Chile and one in Ecuador — featured respiratory symptoms.The virus didn't necessarily have to mutate to infect the Michigan farmworker's respiratory system, Webby said. The person could have simply encountered a large amount of virus, maybe an especially ill cow."That's me sort of looking at the crystal ball a little," he said, adding that it was "the most likely explanation for what we're seeing, rather than the other one, which is of course much more scary, that this virus has already changed."Either way, scientists won't know if any scary mutations have occurred until they can examine the virus's genomic RNA sequence from this new case. But Webby said the patient carried such small amounts of the virus that it was possible the CDC wouldn't have enough to get the sequence.Genome sequences are critical. By checking the virus's genes in each new human case, no matter how mild the symptoms, scientists can identify any fresh mutations that help it adapt to humans. If H5N1 becomes a bona fide mammalian virus, they could watch its transformation in real time.<div type="image" title="blue gloved hands in a white lab coat hold a large syringe and a lab tube of fluid" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110684146" hostid="261"></div>"The very first signals we're going to get that this virus is changing are probably going to come from human infections," Webby said.So far, though, the government's monitoring may not be robust enough to spot those mutations early.<h2 id="3c3ea6d6-9c14-4a0d-8a69-ffacd711d1be">Scientists call for more testing so they won't miss mutations</h2>The Food and Drug Administration has detected fragments of the virus in commercial milk and beef. Public-health experts have told BI that though it's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-milk-food-safety-former-surgeon-general-doctor-2024-4">unlikely food will infect you</a>, cautious people can cook their eggs and meats all the way. They said nobody should drink unpasteurized milk, aka raw milk.<div type="image" title="Cattle look at the camera in front of a hay feeder." height="1417" width="2117" msid="110684147" hostid="261"></div>The real risk is to people who work directly with sick animals, especially farmworkers such as the three who have been infected so far.The CDC's principal deputy director, Nirav Shah, told the press in a briefing on Thursday that the government was monitoring about 350 people nationwide who might have been exposed to H5N1, most of them in Michigan. But <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/health/bird-flu-infection-farmworker.html">The New York Times</a> reported that only about 40 farmworkers had been tested for the virus."We would like to be doing more testing," Shah said, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/30/bird-flu-third-case-human-infection-caused-respiratory-symptoms/">STAT News</a>.Bright argues that the government's weak testing regime could be allowing farmworker infections to fly under the radar.<div type="image" title="man with turkeys inside coop. sign outside reads 'biosecurity area - no admittance w/o owner permission" height="1400" width="2100" msid="110684148" hostid="261"></div>But undetected cases aren't the same thing as undetected spread.Bright's essay rings alarm bells about unknown human-to-human transmission, but Webby finds that unlikely. Even with its current monitoring, the CDC would probably detect sustained human spread, he said.Rather, the problem with undetected cases is that nobody can sequence their samples. Those are windows into the virus's genome (and possible mutations) that nobody is peeking through.Webby and Bright agree that scientists need more sequences of the virus more quickly. For example, Bright said that despite the ongoing herd spread, the Department of Agriculture hadn't shared a new sequence from a cow infection sample in weeks."Bottom line is we need to have more information from exactly what this virus is doing," Webby said. "The more we can understand about it, I do believe we can properly control it, or at least control it way better than we are."Correction — June 4, 2024: An earlier version of this story misstated the nature of genomic sequencing of the H5N1 virus. They are RNA sequences, not DNA.

The 3rd human case of bird flu in the US has 2 new and troubling symptoms

High levels of antibiotic resistance in bacteria are causing life-threatening bloodstream infections, according to the latest report released by the WHO. For the first time, the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) report released on Friday provides analyses of antimicrobial resistance (<keyword id="149212" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="amr" source="Orion">AMR</keyword>) rates in national testing coverage, AMR trends since 2017, and data on antimicrobial consumption in humans in 27 countries. The report shows more than 50 per cent resistance in bacteria, which frequently causes bloodstream infections that require treatment with last-resort antibiotics. Meanwhile, common bacterial infections are becoming increasingly resistant to treatments. More than 60 per cent of Neisseria gonorrhoea isolates, a common sexually transmitted disease, have shown resistance to the common oral antibacterial ciprofloxacin. WHO's Essential Medicines List divides antibiotics into three categories: access, watch and reserve. Medicines in the access group are available at all times as treatments for a wide range of common infections; the watch group lists antibiotics that are recommended as first or second choice treatments for a small number of infections, while the reserve group is for antibiotics which should only be used as a last resort in the most severe circumstances. The report shows that bloodstream infections due to resistant E. coli, <keyword id="396235" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="salmonella" source="Orion">Salmonella</keyword> and gonorrhoea increased by at least 15 per cent compared to 2017. More research is required to identify how this is related to increased hospitalisations and antibiotic treatments during the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO says. Countries with lower rates of testing, mostly low- and middle-income countries, are more likely to report significantly higher AMR rates, <keyword id="106387" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="xinhua-news-agency" source="Orion">Xinhua news agency</keyword> reported. "Antimicrobial resistance undermines modern medicine and puts millions of lives at risk," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "To truly understand the extent of the global threat and mount an effective public health response to AMR, we must scale up microbiology testing and provide quality-assured data across all countries, not just wealthier ones." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/two-adani-group-companies-rule-as-the-top-all-round-wealth-creators/articleshow/96109684.cms">Two Adani Group companies rule as the top all-round wealth creators – here are a few other unexpected entries</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/ril-adani-enterprises-are-the-biggest-and-most-consistent-wealth-creators-as-per-motilal-oswal-report/articleshow/96085753.cms">RIL, Adani Enterprises are the biggest and most consistent wealth creators: Motilal Oswal</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/fpis-invest-over-36000-crore-in-indian-equities-in-november-financial-services-is-top-favourite/articleshow/96082197.cms">FPIs invest over ₹36,000 crore in Indian equities in November – Financial services is top favourite</a>

WHO concerned over increasing antibiotic resistance in human infections

New Delhi, Drugs to treat common infections in children and babies are no longer effective in large parts of the world, including India, due to high rates of antibiotic resistance, a study has found. The team led by researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia found many antibiotics recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) had less than 50 per cent effectiveness in treating childhood infections such as pneumonia, sepsis (bloodstream infections) and meningitis. The findings, published in The <keyword id="6361830" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="lancet" source="Orion">Lancet</keyword> regional Health-Southeast Asia journal, show global guidelines on antibiotic use are outdated and need updates. The most seriously affected regions are in Southeast Asia and the Pacific where thousands of unnecessary deaths in children resulting from antibiotic resistance occur each year, the researchers said. The WHO has declared that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. In newborns, an estimated three million cases of sepsis occur globally each year, with up to 570,000 (5.7 lakh) deaths. Many of these are due to lack of effective antibiotics to treat resistant bacteria. The study adds to mounting evidence that common bacteria responsible for sepsis and meningitis in children are often resistant to prescribed antibiotics. The research shows the urgent need for global antibiotic guidelines to be updated, to reflect the rapidly evolving rates of AMR. The most recent guidelines from the WHO were published in 2013. The study found that one antibiotic in particular, ceftriaxone, was likely to be effective in treating only one in three cases of sepsis or meningitis in newborn babies. Another antibiotic, gentamicin, was found likely to be effective in treating fewer than half of all sepsis and meningitis cases in children, according to the researchers. Gentamicin is commonly prescribed alongside aminopenicillins, which the study showed also has low effectiveness in combating bloodstream infections in babies and children. "Antibiotic resistance is rising more rapidly than we realize," said study lead author Phoebe Williams from the University of Sydney. "We urgently need new solutions to stop invasive multidrug-resistant infections and the needless deaths of thousands of children each year," Williams said. The study analysed 6,648 bacterial isolates from 11 countries across 86 publications to review antibiotic susceptibility for common bacteria causing childhood infections. The data collated largely arose from urban tertiary hospital settings with over-representation from particular countries, especially India and China. Williams said that the best way to tackle antibiotic resistance in childhood infections is to make funding to investigate new antibiotic treatments for children and newborns a priority. "Antibiotic clinical focus on adults and too often children and newborns are left out. That means we have very limited options and data for new treatments," she noted. "This study reveals important problems regarding the availability of effective antibiotics to treat serious infections in children," said study senior author Paul Turner, a professor at the University of Oxford, UK. "It also highlights the ongoing need for high quality laboratory data to monitor the AMR situation, which will facilitate timely changes to be made to treatment guidelines," Turner added.

Antibiotics for common childhood infections no longer effective in many parts of world: Lancet

<ul class="summary-list"><li>For the first time, scientists observed a wild animal treating its own wound with a medicinal plant.</li><li>A Sumatran orangutan, chewed up liana leaves and applied them to his wound. It healed in five days.</li></ul>Rakus the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/orangutan-virginia-zoo-learns-to-nurse-from-breastfeeding-zookeeper-2023-3">orangutan</a> seems to have a surprisingly decent grasp on first-aid.He lives in Gunung Leuser National Park in South Aceh, Indonesia, where scientists from the Institute of Animal Behavior meticulously observe animals like Rakus, documenting their activities every two minutes.A team of researchers led by evolutionary biologist Caroline Schuppli and cognitive biologist Isabelle Laumer were observing Rakus when they noticed he had a deep <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/morpheus8-microneedling-treatment-terrifying-flight-attendant-says-2023-12">facial wound</a>.They believe it was caused by a neighboring male in what's known as a "long call battle," Laumer told Business Insider. Adult male orangutans like Rakus shout out "long calls" to attract females and let rival males know that this is their territory. However, sometimes, those verbal warnings attract males too, which can escalate to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-orangutan-grabbing-man-indonesia-zoo-viral-memes-tiktok-2022-6">physical violence</a>.The research team heard a series of long calls before spotting Rakus' wound, leading them to believe he was involved in a fight with another male, Laumer told Business Insider.But what they saw him do over the next several days was remarkable. They published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=b19a26c7364e0550cadc35a1859e0448d7370b2b1d19f6d34c9142101a57754a&amp;postID=663539a7a7714381cef57bb3&amp;postSlug=orangutan-shows-human-like-behavior-treats-wound-with-medicinal-plant-2024-5&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41598-024-58988-7">Nature</a> this week.Three days after he was hurt, Rakus began feeding on a species of liana called Akar Kuning, a potent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adaptogens-compound-mushroom-plants-help-reduce-stress-2023-10">medicinal plant</a> that isn't a part of an orangutan's regular diet. The researchers observed him chewing the leaves and then applying them to his wound with his finger."This was, to our knowledge, the first time that a wild animal applied a potent healing plant to his own wounds," Laumer said.<h2>Self-medication: a rare animal behavior</h2><div type="image" title="Side-by-side of Akar Kuning leaves and an orangutan feeding on them in the wild." height="263" width="700" msid="109826351" hostid="261" sizebytes="17164"></div>Scientists have seen animals self-medicate before. For example, a group of chimpanzees in Gabon has been observed applying insects to their wounds.But scientists aren't sure whether these insects actually have medicinal properties, "so we don't know if this behavior is in any way efficient or functional," Laumer said. In other words, it's unclear if the chimp's behavior is intentional.What Rakus did was different for a few reasons.For starters, he selected a plant that his species rarely eats. Then he applied the mashed-up leaves precisely onto his wound. During this time, he also spent more than half the day sleeping, a behavior that can help wounds heal.And, most importantly, his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/treatment-for-drug-addiction-medication-2018-4">treatment actually worked</a>. "The wound healing was quite rapid, Laumer said. "Within four days, the wound was closed, and there are no signs of any infection."All of this evidence suggests that this was an intentional self-medicating behavior.Seeing something like this in the wild is incredibly rare, Laumer said, because they only occur in ancient, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/examples-of-evolution-happening-right-now-2015-2">highly evolved species</a>, and researchers need to be in the right place at the right time.<h2>Happy accident, or learned behavior?</h2><div type="image" title="A mother orangutan with a baby on her back" height="1414" width="2121" msid="109826352" hostid="261" sizebytes="198606"></div>If Rakus was intentionally applying medication to his wound, as the evidence suggests, how did he know to do it? We can only guess, Laumer said, but there are a few possible explanations.It could have been a case of individual innovation, when an animal invents a new behavior for the very first time. If that's the case, it may have been a total accident.Rakus may have unintentionally touched his leaf-mush-covered finger to his face, and instantly felt the pain-relieving properties of the plant, Laumer explained. That would have encouraged him to repeat the behavior over and over again.Or, it could be a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-orangutan-wears-sunglasses-video-2021-8">learned behavior</a>. Orangutans are known to be capable of social learning. They're often observed "peering" at their group members, which is the act of getting very close and watching what another orangutan is doing.It's common for juvenile orangutans to exhibit this behavior with their mothers, for example, watching their every move to learn how to survive. So, it's possible that Rakus may have learned this behavior from another orangutan.But, because this is the first time this behavior has ever been observed in orangutans, scientists can't say for sure why or how Rakus did it.<h2>More alike than we are different</h2>Rakus's behavior reminds us a lot of our own behavior with medicinal plants, which could help us understand where our knack for medicinal treatment first evolved.Our earliest shared ancestor with orangutans dates back over 10 million years, so this behavior may originate from many millions of years ago."It also shows how similar we are, more similar than we are different," Laumer said. "It points to how amazing and incredibly smart these animals are, and how important it is to protect them."

Scientists witnessed an orangutan treating his wounds with medicinal plants, showing human-like behavior 

Variation in genes encoding proteins involved in immune responses could be behind why some people remain asymptomatic following <keyword id="9003584" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sars-cov-2-infection" source="Orion">SARS-CoV-2 infection</keyword>. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes encode these proteins used by the immune system in identifying and distinguishing healthy cells in the body from infected ones. Research has shown at least 20 % of Covid-infected do not develop symptoms, or remain asymptomatic. Critical to one's immunity and highly varied among individuals, the HLA system might have specific variants rendering them more protected against or vulnerable to Covid, the researchers in this US-Australia collaborative study wondered. Studying asymptomatic infection may improve our understanding of the features of the immune system that promote rapid clearance of the virus, the study published in the journal Nature said. To understand if an HLA variation might predispose some people to asymptomatic <keyword id="9114543" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-infection" source="Orion">Covid infection</keyword>, the researchers enrolled 29,947 individuals to participate in a smartphone-based study designed to track COVID-19 symptoms and outcomes. All of them were DNA sequenced for their HLA genetic profiling. A total of 1,428 unvaccinated individuals reported a positive test for infection with SARS-CoV-2 and 136 of them reported having no symptoms. One in five individuals who remained asymptomatic after infection were found to carry a common variant of HLA called HLA-B*15:01. People carrying two copies of this variant were more than eight times likely to remain asymptomatic than those carrying other versions of HLA, the study found. "We hypothesised that their immune system could react so fast and powerfully that the virus was eliminated before causing any symptoms. It's like having an army that already knows what to look for and can tell by the uniform that these are the bad guys," according to Jill Hollenbach, professor at the University of California San Francisco, US. In a separate arm of the study, the researchers found that individuals carrying HLA-B*15:01 with no prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2 had T cells (a type of immune cell) that were reactive to SARS-CoV-2 protein fragments sharing some genetic sequences with other seasonal coronaviruses. This finding indicated that people carrying HLA-B*15:01 and previously exposed to seasonal cold viruses had pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and could rapidly eliminate the virus before symptoms could present. The researchers analysed this to be because the T cells from pre-pandemic individuals, that could identify viral particles from past coronaviruses, created an immunological memory from the previous coronaviruses. These memory T cells recognise SARS-CoV-2, owing to its high similarities with those coronaviruses, and kill it very quickly. "So, even if the bad guys changed the uniform, the army would still be able to identify them by their boots or maybe a tattoo on their arms. That is how our immunological memory works to keep us healthy," said Danillo Augusto, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, US.

Scientists may have found the reason behind asymptomatic Covid infections: Genetic variation in immune system

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A man in India visited a doctor for a sore throat that affected his ability to eat and swallow.</li><li>Doctors found an abscess in his throat, and it was full of a fungus usually only found on trees.</li></ul>It seems like a scene out of <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-last-of-us-unanswered-questions-2023-3">"The Last of Us"</a> — a fungus never before seen in humans has just been discovered growing in a person for the first time.A plant researcher in India saw a doctor for a sore throat and learned he had a fungal infection growing in his throat, causing an abscess that had to be drained of pus.Fortunately for him, this fungus was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-real-is-the-last-of-us-science-behind-fungus-pandemic-2023-1">nothing like the Cordecyps</a> seen in the hit HBO TV show. It's known to gardeners as silver leaf, a progressive disease that turns a tree's leaves silver before killing the infected branch.The patient, a 61-year-old man, told doctors that he had a long history of working with decaying plant materials for research, according to a report published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211753923000106?fbclid=IwAR06IzcSJ0mBa7k04yDiVH_4Ro_HyHuHX4qo8iFcF9W08FObBaE6evrlo4E&amp;mibextid=Zxz2cZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Medical Mycology Case Reports</a>. He sought medical attention after three months of hoarseness, trouble swallowing, loss of appetite, cough, and fatigue.Silver leaf is a common blight on stone fruit trees and some flowering shrubs, but this is the first time it has infected a human, according to the report. When the doctors analyzed the man's pus, they found it grew a "creamy pasty" fungal colony in a petri dish.Their tests for fungi known to infect humans came back negative, so the doctors sent a sample to a local World Health Organization laboratory. DNA sequencing revealed that the fungus was Chondrostereum purpureum, the culprit behind silver leaf.<h2>Climate change may help fungi adapt to infect humans</h2>After doctors drained the man's abscess, they sent him on his way with a <a href="https://www.insider.com/cdc-drug-resistant-fungus-spreading-at-alarming-rate-in-us-2023-3">broad-spectrum antifungal drug</a>. He took two pills a day for 60 days and made a complete recovery, according to the report.While it's relatively rare for a healthy person to be infected with a fungus that usually preys on plants, <a href="https://ami-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1462-2920.15028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">it has happened before with other types of fungus.</a> According to the case study authors, these infections may become more common <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-extremes-worsen-most-infectious-diseases-from-leprosy-to-covid-2022-8">as the world's temperatures rise</a>."The worsening of global warming and other civilization activities opens Pandora's Box for newer fungal diseases," they wrote.Michelle Momany, a professor of plant biology who studies fungi at the University of Georgia, told Insider that a fungus would have to evolve to live in warmer temperatures for it to really spread between humans. "The infection was in the throat, not deep in the lungs where the body temperature is higher," she said. Momany was not affiliated with the case report. Even if it's unlikely that silver leaf will become <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-real-is-the-last-of-us-science-behind-fungus-pandemic-2023-1">a major threat to humans</a> anytime soon, people who work with fungal spores should take caution with a high-quality mask to avoid inhaling a potential pathogen, she said.

You Searched For "human infection" and got 10 results

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A fungus known for killing trees has infected a human for the first time, causing a pus-filled abscess to grow in his throat

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