With hundreds of finger-licking preparations, India loves chicken in a way that may be indescribable to a non-resident. However, with the way things are progressing in the avian world, we could soon see a surge in disdain for the delectable meat, and in perhaps the same way the masses denounced bats during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a surprising and alarming twist, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07849-4">new research</a> has found that <keyword id="20633083" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="avian-influenza" source="keywords">avian influenza</keyword>, or <keyword id="20396857" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bird-flu" source="keywords">bird flu</keyword>, has jumped from birds to dairy cattle across many parts of the United States. Initially detected in wild birds, the <keyword id="21348322" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="H5N1" source="keywords">H5N1</keyword> had led to symptoms like reduced appetite, respiratory distress, and a significant drop in milk production. "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 Diego Diel, a virology expert who has written extensively about the topic. As per the new report, significant amounts of the virus has now been identified in the mammary glands of infected cows, meaning their milk itself has the ability to infect others. Researchers have even documented cases where cats and a raccoon became infected, likely from consuming the raw milk from infected cows. Although pasteurisation has shown the ability to kill the virus, the newfound ability to jump from cows to other mammals remains particularly troubling, especially considering how reliant we are on cow products such as beef and milk. <h2>Human cases and <keyword id="22448349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic-potential" source="keywords">pandemic potential</keyword></h2>If you’re feeling comfortable in the thought that the virus has some ways to go before humans need to be concerned, you might want to think again. So far, 11 human cases have already been reported in the US, primarily linked to cattle and <keyword id="20524711" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="poultry-farms" source="keywords">poultry farms</keyword>. While these cases have resulted in mild symptoms, experts worry that the virus could mutate, enhancing its transmissibility among humans. This possibility is a significant concern for scientists and health authorities. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="109054967" title="Scientists warn of bird flu pandemic that could be &amp;#39;100 times worse&amp;#39; than COVID after rare human case found in US" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Further, as viruses do, H5N1 is already evolving at a rapid pace. A <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2024.07.14.603367">separate study </a>led by researchers at UNC Charlotte found that the latest variants of H5N1 are getting better at evading antibodies, including those in humans. According to the researchers, these mutations could potentially lead the virus towards pandemic status if it continues to adapt and spread among mammals. <h2>Will developing nations be able to cope?</h2>Given these developments, continuous monitoring of the virus in both animals and humans is critical. The US Department of Agriculture has funded H5N1 testing programs to detect and manage outbreaks early. Enhanced biosecurity measures and quarantine protocols will undoubtedly be critical to prevent the virus from spreading to pandemic levels. However, this is a task much easier said than done for developing countries, who often lack the infrastructure and resources needed for such robust surveillance and response. Many of these countries have limited access to advanced diagnostic tools, vaccines, and antiviral treatments. This disparity leaves large portions of the global population vulnerable to the spread of H5N1. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="110941217" title="WHO confirms human case of bird flu in India! H9N2 virus detected in a four-year child in West Bengal" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>The World Health Organization has repeatedly stressed the need for global cooperation and support to strengthen health systems in underprepared regions. Without adequate resources, these countries may struggle to detect and contain the virus, potentially allowing it to spread unchecked. This not only endangers local populations but also increases the risk of a global pandemic. The implications of these studies are clear: the H5N1 virus is moving closer to pandemic potential. As it spreads among mammals, the risk of it adapting to humans increases. The world needs to prepare now to avoid being caught off guard, as was the case with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cows are now spreading bird flu to each other — here's why that's problematic for humans

Amidst the global focus on the COVID-19 <keyword id="43587" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic" source="Orion">pandemic</keyword> in 2020, a new and concerning viral threat emerged, largely unnoticed. While attention was diverted, the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, <keyword id="13234273" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="h5n1" source="Orion">H5N1</keyword>, quietly evolved into a new variant, labelled 2.3.4.4b, presenting a significant development in its transmission pattern. A recent study has unveiled a startling revelation: H5N1, traditionally associated with <keyword id="20838242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="avian-populations" source="keywords">avian populations</keyword>, has breached into marine mammals. Instances of the virus have been detected in marine animals along the Atlantic coast of South America, prompting concerns over potential transmission to humans. Researchers conducted an analysis of brain samples from deceased animals in an affected sea lion rookery in Argentina. Alarmingly, all samples, encompassing sea lions, fur seals, and terns, tested positive for H5N1, specifically the 2.3.4.4b variant. This mutation is notable for its ability to infect both avian and marine species, indicating a concerning adaptability of the virus. Scientists fear the likelihood of a multi-species outbreak as the virus infiltrates diverse food chains within the region. Previous observations of similar mutations in sea lions from Peru and Chile, as well as a singular human case in Chile, underscore the gravity of this development. Termed a "New onster" by senior author Marcela Uhart, the variant initiated mass die-offs among seabirds in Europe before spreading globally, eventually reaching South America in 2022. The true extent of the virus's impact became evident in August 2023 when it ravaged sea lion populations at the southern tip of the continent, subsequently spreading northward. Mortality rates among marine mammals, particularly elephant seal pups, soared to alarming levels, reaching 96% in surveyed areas by November 2023. Since its introduction to South America, H5N1 has claimed the lives of over six lakh wild birds and 50,000 marine mammals. While <keyword id="8626520" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-transmission" source="Orion">human transmission</keyword> remains relatively low-risk, ongoing replication within mammalian hosts poses a concerning escalation of the threat. As the virus progresses southward, scientists express grave concerns regarding its potential impact on <keyword id="19945467" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="antarctica" source="keywords">Antarctica</keyword>'s unique wildlife, notably penguins. To address this looming threat, surveillance efforts are underway in Antarctica to monitor the virus's spread and its potential consequences on vulnerable species. These findings have been published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

New variant of H5N1 bird flu spreads to marine mammals, heightening concerns for human transmission

An international team of scientists has identified 18 <keyword id="12545062" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mammalian-viruses" source="Orion">mammalian viruses</keyword>, which pose high risk to humans and domestic animals, from China's infamous wet markets. The origins of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which has so far resulted in 253.6 million cases of infections and 5.11 million deaths, has been linked with a seafood market in Wuhan. China has maintained that the first cases of SARS-CoV-2 likely emerged from animal to human transmission at a wet market in Wuhan. In the study, researchers from China, the US, Belgium and Australia claimed to have unearthed game animals that are commonly hunted or consumed as exotic food in China, and have been potential reservoirs for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. The team also examined many species for the first time, some of which have been banned by the Chinese government for trading or artificial breeding since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. They performed an analysis of 1,725 game animals, representing 16 species and five mammalian orders, sampled across China. "From this we identified 71 mammalian viruses, with 45 described for the first time. Eighteen viruses were considered as potentially high risk to humans and domestic animals," said corresponding author Shuo Su from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Nanjing Agricultural University in China. Notably, the team did not identify any SARS-CoV-2-like or SARS-CoV-like sequences, including the Malayan pangolins from which SARS-CoV-2-like viruses have previously been identified, Su said in the study posted on preprint server biorxiv, meaning not yet peer-reviewed. According to researchers, one reason for the lack of pangolin SARS-like viruses could be that previous virus-positive samples were all confiscated by the custom authorities in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, both of which were characterised by an intensive network of animal smuggling. In contrast, the new samples were obtained from Zhejiang province in eastern China which does not have an international border that would facilitate smuggling, they said. Further, the team found that Civets (Paguma larvata) carried the highest number of potentially high risk viruses. The cat-like carnivores have been known as potential reservoirs for coronavirus. They also identified the transmission of bat coronavirus HKU8 from a bat to a civet, as well as cross-species jumps of coronavirus from bats to hedgehogs and from birds to porcupines. Similarly avian influenza virus H9N2 was also identified in civets and Asian badgers, with the latter displaying respiratory symptoms, as well as cases of likely human-to-wildlife virus transmission. "These data highlight the importance of game animals as potential drivers of disease emergence," the researchers said. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/former-myntra-ceo-started-mensa-brand-in-may-and-its-already-worth-a-billion-dollars-with/articleshow/87735832.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Former Myntra CEO started Mensa Brand in May ⁠and it’s already worth a billion dollars</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/policybazzar-and-sigachi-share-price-jump-in-early-trading/articleshow/87730171.cms">Policybazaar gets a boost after an American fund laps up 3.4 million shares and Sigachi hits upper circuit on the morning after listing</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/jpmorgan-takes-tesla-to-court-over-elon-musks-2018-tweets-demands-162-million/articleshow/87729405.cms">JPMorgan takes Tesla to court over Elon Musk’s 2018 tweets ⁠— demands $162 million</a>

Scientists find 18 more viruses from China's wet markets

Scientists believe bats first transmitted Covid virus to humans in December 2019, and while the virus has since evolved into several variants such as delta and omicron, a new study reveals the virus is still highly transmissible between mammals. Researchers including an Indian-origin scientist at <keyword id="605852" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rochester-institute-of-technology" source="Orion">Rochester Institute of Technology</keyword> (<keyword id="1627927" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rit" source="Orion">RIT</keyword>) in New York in the US, developed computer simulations that show the coronaviruses use their spike proteins to attach themselves to the host cells in both bats and humans in much the same way. "We were hoping to see really cool adaptive evolution happening as the virus got more used to humans and less used to bats, but we actually saw that there wasn't a whole lot of change," said <keyword id="15687074" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gregory-babbitt" source="Orion">Gregory Babbitt</keyword> from the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences. "If you look at the phylogenetic relationships of bats to humans, we're pretty far apart on the mammalian tree. So it suggests that there would be pretty widespread cross-species infectivity, and the literature has shown there's been a lot of evidence of that," he said in a paper, including recent RIT alumnus <keyword id="15687073" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="madhusudan-rajendran" source="Orion">Madhusudan Rajendran</keyword>, published in the journal <keyword id="2871608" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="royal-society-open-science" source="Orion">Royal Society Open Science</keyword>. They studied how the viral spike proteins in several SARS-CoV-2 variants interact with the host cell receptors known as ACE2 in both humans and various bats of genus Rhinolophus. The results were surprising for the team. Computer simulations showed there is a still significant risk of mammalian cross-species infectivity. "It would be dangerous to do experiments where we reinfected bats with human viral strains, so our computer-based simulations offered a much safer alternative," said <keyword id="5446752" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="babbitt" source="Orion">Babbitt</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rupee-at-80-against-the-usd-a-possibility-say-analysts-as-us-fed-hints-at-slower-rate-hikes/articleshow/95940818.cms">Rupee may hit 80/$ aided by trifecta of softer rates, cooling crude and stronger macros, say analysts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/globalbees-to-cred-and-two-adani-group-companies-companies-which-command-high-valuations-with-low-revenues/articleshow/95929044.cms">The curious case of companies which command high valuations with low revenues</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/maruti-suzuki-announces-price-hike-from-january-2023/articleshow/95941950.cms">Maruti Suzuki cars will get costlier from January 2023</a>

Deadly Covid variants still transmissible between species, finds 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

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The bird flu, or avian influenza, is increasingly worrying public-health experts.</li><li>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">H5N1 bird flu virus</a> is changing, creeping closer to humans, and getting more opportunities to adapt.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-virus-h5n1-new-human-case-michigan-respiratory-symptoms-2024-6">Bird flu</a> is flying wild, and it has many infectious disease experts more worried now than ever.The H5N1 avian influenza virus has killed tens of millions of birds across the planet and more than 40,000 sea lions and seals. For animals, it's a pandemic.Still, the CDC says the risk to humans is low. Most people seem to have very little chance, if any, of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-eggs-meat-milk-dairy-safety-during-outbreak-2024-4">catching H5N1 avian influenza</a> right now.Only three people in the US have tested positive for the virus since its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-cattle-outbreak-repeat-mistakes-former-surgeon-general-warning-2024-4">surprising break into the cattle population</a>, and they all had direct contact with infected cows.<div type="image" title="farmer man in overalls blue and white button shirt and camo cap reaches over a wooden fence to scratch a cow wearing a bow inside an indoors stall full of hay" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949087" hostid="261" sizebytes="321112"></div>But infectious disease experts are increasingly concerned that the H5N1 virus could <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-viruses-scientists-are-watching-for-the-next-pandemic-2022-4">make a sustained jump into humans</a> and start spreading among us. That's not inevitable, but several recent developments suggest it's a growing threat."There's a lot going on," Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine and associate chief of the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Business Insider. "I'm becoming more worried."You shouldn't panic, but you should probably know what's going on. This virus is a leading candidate for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-says-world-needs-billion-year-prevent-next-pandemic-2022-6">the next pandemic</a>, and four developments in the past month have experts worried.Here's what you need to know.<h2 id="a6efdbe9-4727-4b3a-b934-ceccc3f63ba8">Bird flu hospitalized a child in Australia</h2>On Friday the World Health Organization announced that a 2-year-old had become Australia's first human case of H5N1 in March.After returning from travel to Kolkata, India, the child's symptoms — loss of appetite, fever, coughing, vomiting, and irritability, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2024-DON519">according</a> to WHO — put them in the hospital for two and a half weeks, including admission to the intensive care unit.As human cases crop up in different parts of the world, epidemiologists like Christopher Dye become more concerned."There's such a vast amount of virus at the moment. And clearly it is changing, and it's doing new and unexpected things," Dye, a professor and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, told BI.<div type="image" title="researcher in white lab coat blue medical gloves and protective goggles works with an ice bucket containing small samples of milk in a lab" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949085" hostid="261" sizebytes="166070"></div>He recently co-authored a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj.q1199.full">paper</a>, published in the medical journal BMJ, arguing that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-real-is-the-last-of-us-science-behind-fungus-pandemic-2023-1">risk of a major human outbreak</a> is "large, plausible, and imminent.""<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/influenza-more-worrisone-than-zika-ebola-2016-4">Influenza has always been a concern</a> for decades and decades, and this particular form of influenza for at least two decades," Dye said. "But now, it's risen to a level of concern, I think, which is greater than ever before."<h2 id="17691a35-dcc3-4171-8b3c-1c847c1e9bb6">Mice could bring bird flu into homes</h2>A total of 47 house mice have tested positive for H5N1 in New Mexico, the US Department of Agriculture reported on Tuesday."Mice are kind of everywhere," Gandhi said. "They're around other animals, they're around humans a lot. And it's a little worrisome."<div type="image" title="brown mouse with white belly sits eating small piece of something in the snow" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949089" hostid="261" sizebytes="37666"></div>The samples were collected from the sick mice in early May. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/why-the-discovery-of-h5n1-bird-flu-in-mice-is-so-alarming/">The Telegraph</a>, scientists suspect that the mice, as well as some domestic cats, may have gotten the virus from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-milk-food-safety-former-surgeon-general-doctor-2024-4">drinking raw milk from infected cows</a>. (Public health experts resoundingly advise that people should not drink unpasteurized, aka "raw," milk.)"This brings the virus closer to human homes," Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, told The Telegraph. "This is out of control," he added.Every new population of animals, and every new exposure to humans, is another opportunity for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-hiv-had-coronavirus-216-days-virus-mutated-2021-6">the virus to mutate</a> and adapt.<h2 id="abc7e6b4-b179-449b-b66c-ad52a39458d8">One mutation suggests the virus has started adapting</h2><div type="image" title="h5n1 virus microscope image shows black and white long straight worm-shaped organism" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949092" hostid="261" sizebytes="157400"></div>When the CDC analyzed a virus sample from the second US farmworker infected, they spotted a mutation in the virus's replication machinery — the way it gets inside its host's cells to make copies of itself.It's a change "associated with viral adaptation to mammalian hosts," the CDC said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2023-2024/h5n1-technical-update-may-24-2024.html">statement in May</a>. The statement also said that studies in mice indicate this type of genetic mutation in the virus is associated with more severe disease and enhanced viral replication.That doesn't make it a human virus yet, though.Other than this one change, H5N1 has mainly "avian virus properties and not human virus properties," Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude and director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, told BI.That means the virus is better adapted to thrive and spread among birds, not humans.Still, that could change.<h2 id="ddfee4b3-1706-4652-9418-5ae34679d762">The latest US case had a troubling cough</h2>The first two farmworkers to test positive for H5N1 in the US had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/treatments/pink-eye-treatment">pink eye</a>. But the third case, reported in Michigan in May, featured a cough and sore throat.That means H5N1 was in that worker's respiratory system, which is a scarier place to find a threatening virus than in our eyes.For one thing, it's easier to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-covid-positive-biden-statement-meadows-book-coughing-on-people-2021-12">spread a virus by coughing</a> or sneezing than by, well, sharing eye fluid.<div type="image" title="A man coughing" height="1439" width="2084" msid="110949086" hostid="261" sizebytes="169668"></div>The good news is that, as far as scientists can tell, H5N1 is still not adapted to humans enough to transmit between us. The CDC has reported no evidence that the coughing farmworker spread the virus to anyone else.But that doesn't mean H5N1 can't mutate to achieve human-to-human transmission — which brings us to the second unfortunate reality of this farmworker's respiratory infection. Compared to the eyes, human lungs are a more convenient place for an avian virus to get more mammalian, according to Webby. In the lungs, the virus is exposed to more of the cell receptors that a mammalian virus would bind to, giving H5N1 more opportunity to mutate and start grabbing onto those receptors — thereby becoming better adapted to infecting and spreading between humans.Many experts fear the USDA and CDC aren't monitoring cattle and farmworkers closely enough to catch concerning mutations early, and that other human cases may be going undetected.<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="110949093" hostid="261" sizebytes="47636"></div>"I think there's enough of a threat here to be very alert so that we have a surveillance system in place that, as soon as this happens, we can find it," Dye said.<h2 id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">Vaccines are in the works</h2>The good news is that bird flu is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/august-flu-vs-covid-infection-rate-2023-8">not COVID-19</a>. Scientists have been tracking this virus and its entire viral family tree, watching for any sign of a growing threat to humans, for decades.As a result, the key elements of a vaccine are already on standby. The US is beginning to manufacture millions of vaccines using "candidate vaccine viruses" — weakened influenza viruses — that the CDC has developed.<div type="image" title="how does the flu shot work" height="1414" width="2121" msid="110949090" hostid="261" sizebytes="78400"></div>Though the candidates are not necessarily perfect matches to H5N1, and the vaccines' use of eggs may be a manufacturing roadblock if bird flu is sweeping the chicken population, they may provide some immunity in the case of a human outbreak.Furthermore, scientists now have proven <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mrna-vaccine-pfizer-moderna-coronavirus-2020-12">mRNA vaccine technology</a> at the ready. Vaccines that use mRNA, of which the COVID-19 vaccines were the first approved for use, are more flexible and faster to develop than traditional vaccines — and they don't require eggs.<div type="image" title="white shiny eggs on a machine coming out of a pink glowing chamber" height="1500" width="2667" msid="110949091" hostid="261" sizebytes="187078"></div>Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have already <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2024/may/penn-researchers-develop-experimental-mrna-avian-flu-vaccine">developed</a> an experimental mRNA vaccine for H5N1, which they've successfully tested in mice and ferrets.If H5N1 becomes a problem in humans, a vaccine could be offered with the flu shot you get later this year.In the meantime, bird flu is a looming threat to keep an eye on."As far as I can see, this is not going to go away anytime soon," Dye said.

Why 4 new bird flu developments have experts worried about the virus

New York [US], April 5 (ANI): The <keyword id="10561122" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bird-flu-pandemic" source="Orion">bird flu pandemic</keyword> with the potential to be "<keyword id="21202249" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="100-times-worse" source="Orion">100 times worse</keyword> than COVID" may be on the horizon after a rare human case was discovered in Texas, experts have warned, the New York Post reported on Thursday. The <keyword id="21202246" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="H5N1-avian-flu" source="keywords">H5N1 avian flu</keyword> has spread rapidly since a new strain was detected in 2020 affecting wild birds in every state, as well as in commercial poultry and backyard flocks. But the recent cases detected in mammals, with cattle herds across four states becoming infected and on Monday, federal health officials announced that a dairy worker in Texas caught the virus. "This virus [has been] on the top of the pandemic list for many, many years and probably decades," Suresh Kuchipudi, a <keyword id="95867" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bird-flu" source="Orion">bird flu</keyword> researcher from Pittsburgh, said at a recent panel discussing the issue, the New York Post reported citing the Daily Mail. "And now we're getting dangerously close to this virus potentially causing a pandemic." He noted that the <keyword id="565908" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="H5N1-virus" source="Orion">H5N1 virus</keyword> has already been detected in species throughout the world and "has shown the ability to infect a range of mammalian hosts, including humans." "So therefore, in my view, I think this is a virus that has the greatest pandemic threat [that is] playing out in plain sight and globally present," Kuchipudi said. John Fulton, a pharmaceutical industry consultant for vaccines and the founder of Canada-based BioNiagara who organized the meeting, also expressed his concerns, the Mail reports, the New York Post reported. "This appears to be 100 times worse than COVID -- or it could be if it mutates and maintains its high case fatality rate," he said. "Once it's mutated to infect humans, we can only hope that the [fatality rate] drops." Around 52 per cent of humans who have contracted H5N1 since 2003 have died, according to the World Health Organization. For comparison, COVID currently kills less than 0.1% of those it infects -- though at the start of the pandemic, the fatality rate was around 20 per cent. Symptoms of the bird flu are similar to those of other flus, including cough, body aches and fever, the New York Post reported. Some people may not develop noticeable symptoms, but others can develop severe, life-threatening pneumonia. The dairy worker in Texas who was infected has reported "eye redness (consistent with conjunctivitis)" as their only symptom, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted. "The patient was told to isolate and is being treated with an antiviral drug for [the] flu," the CDC said. The agency and "the whole US government is taking this situation very seriously," CDC Director Mandy Cohen told the Washington Post. She maintained that the virus does not pose much of a risk to the general public, noting that the dairy worker was in direct contact with infected cattle, and the US Department of Agriculture has said there are currently no changes that would make it more transmissible to humans. "While cases among humans in direct contact with infected animals are possible, this indicates that the current risk to the public remains low," the department said in a statement over the weekend. But the fact that the virus has been found in cattle could mean it is starting to mutate, Cohen told the Washington Post. "We had not seen avian flu in cattle prior to last week. That is new," she said. "It is a reservoir for [the] virus to circulate and potentially change." If the virus does mutate enough to infect humans, it could spread rapidly, the European Food Safety Authority warned on Wednesday, according to Fox News. "If avian A [H5N1] influenza viruses acquire the ability to spread efficiently among humans, large-scale transmission could occur due to the lack of immune defences against H5 viruses in humans," the Food Safety Authority said. To prevent any potential spread, the US is already testing components used to create a vaccine for the virus, and two candidate vaccine viruses appear to be well-matched to protect against H5N1, the Washington Post reports. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said the Biden administration is monitoring the threat. "We take the health and safety of the American people seriously," she said at her briefing on Wednesday. "It is very important to this president. Our top priority is to keep communities healthy, safe and informed."

Scientists warn of bird flu pandemic that could be '100 times worse' than COVID after rare human case found in US

ICMR scientists have flagged presence of another Chinese virus called 'Cat Que Virus', which has a "potential" to cause disease in India, even as it grapples with the Covid pandemic. CQV can cause febrile illnesses, meningitis and paediatric encephalitis in humans. According to the seven researchers at the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Institute of Virology in Pune, the presence of Cat Que Virus in Culex mosquitoes and pigs has been reported in China and Vietnam. They added that due to the spread of similar species of the Culex mosquitoes in India, there is a need to understand the replication kinetics of this virus. The researchers said that the presence in Culex mosquitoes in China and pigs in Vietnam suggested susceptibility of Asian countries to CQV. The scientists discovered antibodies for the tropical virus in two out of the 883 human serum samples tested across states. It indicates that these two people were infected with the virus at some point of time. It was not found in any of the human at the time of study. "Anti-CQV IgG antibody positivity in human serum samples tested and the replication capability of CQV in mosquitoes indicated a possible disease causing potential of CQV in Indian scenario. Screening of more human and swine serum samples using these assays is required as a proactive measure for understanding prevalence of this neglected tropical virus,a the research published in Indian Journal of Medical Research in June stated. In Indian context, "data showed that mosquitoes such as Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. Tritaeniorhynchus were susceptible to CQV. Thus, mosquitoes were found to be a potential vector for CQV transmission to mammalian hosts", a scientist stated. According to the apex research body, domestic pigs are the primary mammalian host of CQV and antibodies against the virus have been reported in swine reared locally in China, indicating that CQV has formed a natural cycle in local areas. --IANS aka/in

ICMR now flags chances of Chinese 'Cat Que Virus' in India

Los Angeles, Apr 8 () Exploitation of wildlife by humans through hunting, trade, and habitat degradation leads to close contact between the animals and humans, increasing the risk of spillover of viruses like the novel coronavirus which causes COVID-19, according to a study. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provides new evidence for assessing spillover risk in animal species and highlights how the processes that create wildlife population declines also enable the transmission of animal viruses to humans. "Spillover of viruses from animals is a direct result of our actions involving wildlife and their habitat," said lead author Christine Kreuder Johnson, from the University of California, Davis in the US. "The consequence is they're sharing their viruses with us. These actions simultaneously threaten species survival and increase the risk of spillover. In an unfortunate convergence of many factors, this brings about the kind of mess we're in now," Johnson said. The scientists assembled a large dataset of the 142 known viruses that spill over from animals to humans and the species that have been implicated as potential hosts. Using the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, they examined patterns in those species' abundance, extinction risks and underlying causes for species declines. The data show clear trends in spillover risk that highlight how people have interacted with animals throughout history, the researchers said. They found that domesticated animals, including livestock, have shared the highest number of viruses with humans, with eight times more zoonotic viruses compared to wild mammalian species. This is likely a result of our frequent close interactions with these species for centuries, the researchers said. According to the study, wild animals that have increased in abundance and adapted well to human-dominated environments also share more viruses with people. These include some rodent, bat and primate species that live among people, near our homes, and around our farms and crops, making them high-risk for ongoing transmission of viruses to people, it found. The researchers noted that at the other end of the spectrum are threatened and endangered species. These are animals whose population declines were connected to hunting, wildlife trade and decreases in habitat quality, the said. These species were predicted to host twice as many zoonotic viruses compared to threatened species that had populations decreasing for other reasons, according to the researchers. Threatened and endangered species also tend to be highly managed and directly monitored by humans trying to bring about their population recovery, which also puts them into greater contact with people, they said. Bats repeatedly have been implicated as a source of "high consequence" pathogens, including SARS, Nipah virus, Marburg virus and ebolaviruses, the study noted. SARSAR

Wildlife trade, habitat degradation driving virus spillover: Study

Toronto, Apr 15 () Scientists tracing signatures of the novel coronavirus across different species, have proposed that stray dogs -- specifically dog intestines -- may have contributed to the origin of the pandemic. According to the study, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, many animals, beginning with snakes and most recently, pangolins, have all been put forth as the likely intermediate hosts transmitting the virus, SARS-CoV-2, from bats to humans However, according to Xuhua Xia from the University of Ottawa in Canada, the viruses isolated from these animals are too divergent from SARS-CoV-2. "Our observations have allowed the formation of a new hypothesis for the origin and initial transmission of SARS-CoV-2," Xia said. "The ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 and its nearest relative, a bat coronavirus, infected the intestine of canids, most likely resulting in a rapid evolution of the virus in canids and its jump into humans," Xia said. With scientists across the world scrambling to identify the species of origin to understand how the new coronavirus first leapt from its animal hosts to humans, the researcher believes the findings highlight the need for monitoring SARS-like coronaviruses in feral dogs. According to Xia, the current study is based on the battle scars viruses get from fighting off and evading the host's immune system using adaptations found within their genomes. He said humans and mammals have a key antiviral protein, called ZAP, which can stop a virus in its tracks by preventing its multiplication in the host and degrading its genome. Xia said ZAP targets a pair of chemical letters, called CpG dinucleotides, within its RNA genome. However, the viruses can punch back, the study noted. Coronaviruses, like SARS-CoV, can avoid ZAP by reducing the CpG, thus rendering the antiviral protein powerless, the University of Ottawa scientist said. According to the researcher, one implication of this is that the remaining CpG dinucleotides on the viral genome are likely functionally important for the virus. "Think of a decreased amount of CpG in a viral pathogen as an increased threat to public health, while an increased amount of CpG decreases the threat of such viral pathogens," said Xia. In the study, Xia examined all 1,252 full-length betacoronavirus genomes deposited into GenBank -- an open access database of genetic sequences. He found that SARS-CoV-2, and its most closely related known relative, a bat coronavirus (BatCoV RaTG13), have the lowest amount of CpG among its close coronavirus relatives. "The most striking pattern is an isolated but dramatic downward shift in viral genomic CpG in the lineage leading to BatCoV RaTG13 which was reported to be sampled from a bat (Rhinolophus affinis) in Yunnan Province in 2013, but only sequenced by Wuhan Institute of Virology after the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection in late 2019," Xia said. "This bat CoV genome is the closest phylogenetic relative of SARS-CoV-2, sharing 96 per cent sequence similarity," he added. The downshifting in CpG might have served as a warning due to two highly significant implications, the scientists said. "First, the virus likely evolved in a tissue with high ZAP expression which favours viral genomes with a low CpG," Xia explained. "Second and more importantly, survival of the virus indicates that it has successfully evaded ZAP-mediated antiviral defense. In other words, the virus has become stealthy and dangerous to humans," he added. When Xia examined the data in dogs, he found that only genomes from canine coronaviruses (CCoVs), which had caused a highly contagious intestinal disease worldwide in dogs, have CpG values similar to those observed in SARS-CoV-2 and BatCoV RaTG13. The known cellular receptor for SARS-CoV-2 entry into the cell is ACE2 is also made in the human digestive system, at the highest levels in the small intestine and duodenum, with relatively low expression in the lung. Based on this, the scientists suggested that the mammalian digestive system is likely to be a key target infected by coronaviruses. Humans are the only other host species Xia observed to produce coronavirus genomes with low genomic CpG values. Canids are often observed to lick their anal and genital regions, not only during mating but also in other circumstances. Such behaviour, the scientist said, would facilitate viral transmission from the digestive system to the respiratory system. Based on his results, Xia presents a scenario in which the coronavirus first spread from bats to stray dogs eating bat meat. Next, he said, the strong selection against CpG in the viral RNA genome in canid intestines may have resulted in rapid evolution of the virus leading to reduced genomic CpG. A reduced viral genomic CpG may have then allowed the virus to evade human ZAP-mediated immune response and became a severe human pathogen, Xia said. "This study suggests that important evidence of viral evolution can be revealed by consideration of the interaction of host defenses with viral genomes, including selective pressure exerted by host tissues on viral genome composition," Xia added. VIS VISVIS

Stray dogs may have played role in novel coronavirus origin: Study

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Many animals are capable of transmitting <keyword id="10860" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Virus">virus</keyword>es to others, but as virus super hosts, <keyword id="92255" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bats">bats</keyword> are common transmitters.</li><li>Scientists believe the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/coronavirus">COVID-19 coronavirus</a> could have originated in bats.</li><li>As a by-product to flying, bats' weakened immune systems have given them the ability to live with viruses, without displaying serious symptoms or catching a disease.</li><li>As humans encroach on wild environments, the opportunities for transmission, as wildlife directly interacts with people and domesticated<a href="https://healthcareinamerica.us/what-makes-bats-the-perfect-hosts-for-so-many-viruses-3274c019bb4d"> animals</a>, have increased. </li><li>For the latest case total, death toll, and travel information, see <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-virus-everything-we-know-deadly-2019-ncov-wuhan-spread-2020-1">Business Insider's live updates here</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>Following is a transcript of the <keyword id="21654" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="video">video</keyword>. Narrator: Ebola, rabies, SARS, and <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> are not just viral diseases. They are zoonotic diseases, caused by a virus transmitted from animals to humans. While many animals are capable of transmission, there's one in particular that is considered a virus superhost: bats. So, what makes Dracula's alter ego also the perfect breeding ground for viruses? Bats harbor significantly more zoonotic viruses compared to other mammals. Researchers have found more than 60 of these floating around in the bat population. And, on average, each bat plays host to almost two of these viruses. Some of these are linked to large-scale outbreaks, such as MERS, SARS, and Ebola, which were spread to humans either directly from bats or through intermediate hosts. And scientists have suggested that bats could also be linked to the COVID-19 <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. But with such a heavy viral cargo, how do bats manage to survive? Researchers believe it actually comes down to their ability to fly. Jon Epstein: The inflammation that results from the physical act of beating your wings, you know, hundreds of times a minute, that can lead to damage at the cellular level. Narrator: That intense damage would typically be enough to trigger an immune response, the same reaction your body would have to an infection. This includes symptoms like inflammation, a fever, or even mucus production, and, for the most part, this reaction is to protect the body. But sometimes immune systems overreact, which can trigger severe diseases such as pneumonia, as seen with COVID-19 cases. So the aggressive and consistent amount of damage caused by flying has forced bats to adapt. Epstein: Bats have dampened down their response, their inflammatory response. Narrator: They produce only enough of a response to survive and fly without the body going into overdrive. Basically, without causing disease. And that response to flying comes with a rather helpful byproduct: the power to fight viruses. Their weakened anti-inflammatory response not only stops the body from going into overdrive, it also allows them to always be on high alert for viruses. Normally, mammals have to switch off their antiviral response systems to avoid inflammation, but scientists have found that some bats never switch off their antiviral response at all. Their immune system is basically always on the lookout for a new viral invasion, so when a virus attacks, bats can swiftly protect their bodies against it. They don't necessarily kill the virus, but they do protect their cells against it, essentially acting as viral incubators, coexisting and tolerating it just enough to survive. Epstein: Most natural reservoirs have a long-term relationship with viruses and bacteria. They've spent a long time together, and often infection with those microbes is benign in its host, so it's really the interaction with new hosts, the ability for viruses to get into a new animal or people that leads to disease. Narrator: So while all these viruses might be deadly to other mammals, bats themselves can carry them for a period of time without having any serious symptoms, and during that time, they pass it on. Bats make up about 20% of mammalian species, and they also love being together, which enhances the spread of viruses between them. And, well, they get around. The sky, that is. Bats can travel wide geographic distances in very little time. This means they also pass their, uh, viral fluids to a wide range of animals, and these animals can pass them to humans through saliva, feces, or urine, oftentimes when animals are being handled, hunted, butchered, or eaten. This is exactly what happened in 2002 when a horseshoe bat infected a civet with SARS, which then passed on the disease to human populations. But before we all start a bat witch hunt, let's take a step back. Bats are essential to our society and ecosystems. They control insect populations, pollinate crops, and teach us about sonar systems. Epstein: So, we wouldn't have our tropical rain forests if it weren't for bats. So these are animals that are critically important. So even though we recognize that they may carry viruses that have the ability to infect people, we have to focus on human activities and the things that we're doing that bring us into contact with bats, because the spillover is typically accidental, and it's caused by us. Narrator: Currently, humanity is doing more and more each day to bring us into closer contact with wildlife. We're expanding cities and farms into wild areas, tearing down forests, and capturing animals for wildlife markets or illegal trading. These all increase the chances of wildlife directly interacting with people and domesticated animals, and that can lead to the emergence of new viruses in human populations. COVID-19 isn't the first and most certainly won't be the last zoonotic-disease pandemic, but we can be better prepared in the future. Epstein: We need to continue to put resources into public-health measures, strengthening health systems in countries that are most vulnerable to emerging diseases and continuing to understand what viruses are out there that are potentially risky for human health, and what are the activities, what are the actions going on that put us at risk so that we can work with local communities and with countries, including the United States, to try to reduce high-risk behaviors. Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bats-breeding-ground-viruses-superhost-coronavirus-2020-4">Business Insider</a>

Why bats can fight off so many viruses

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/543fe2c76da8118910137795-800-600/nyc-subway-rat-1.jpg" border="0" alt="nyc subway rat"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/_tim/86111121/in/photolist-9Pqs8T-ex5Han-8BkQv-7CYJp4-8U14cR-5Uomyg-787VXL-caanb-4QovMT-zuysp-7gvcP-5mGeJK-4E24Va-t9yZy-6b6nDQ-5suVvM-9DWmW-8zQoNM-caUgwq-9jL8Lp-8zQn9i-7NZBjJ-691oDV-8zQpk8-5qMomo-eK3BNp-8zQj9i-8zTyym-8zTrD3-8zTtf5-8zTv1A-8zTrU7-8zTsEG-8zTvDy-8zQrVk-8zQqx4-8zTyNq-8zTx6L-8zTvmd-8zQiy4-8zTsg5-bLVBHZ-acKa16-7AMX4J-53bEBe-Pmwdo-PmG4h-9PqquK-8R8h3-4CscCf">Tim Murtaugh/Flickr</a>Subway rats: even worse than you thought.</img></div></div></div>Everyone who's ever used a New York City subway knows that they're teeming with rats, and that said rats are, almost by definition, disgusting. But no one had quantified just how disgusting they are ... until now.
A team of scientists at Columbia University trapped 133 Norway rats - Rattus norvegicus - from five sites in midtown and lower Manhattan, and used DNA sequencing to catalogue the pathogens they carry.
They found an alarming number of disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and single-celled organisms called protozoa. At least one of the protozoan and eight of the bacterial species have been linked to gastrointestinal disease in humans.
Even more disconcertingly, they discovered nearly 30 viral species, including almost 20 mammalian viruses, and <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/cums-ron101414.php" target="_blank">18 viruses that were previously unknown to science</a>.
Below is a chart showing some of the known microbial pathogens the researchers found in New York City's rats using <a href="http://www.uvm.edu/~cgep/Education/PCR.html" target="_blank">targeted polymerase chain reaction</a> screening. (In addition the researchers identified more viruses using a technique called <a href="http://www.labmanager.com/lab-product/2011/11/evolution-of-ultra-high-throughput-screening?fw1pk=2#.VEAznGRdXWo" target="_blank">ultra-high throughput screening</a>) It excludes some common ones like E. coli and Rickiettsia, which they tested for but did not find, even though previous studies have found them in rodents. 
You can see some microbes were in more rats than others, specifically some of the older rats had more pathogens (the correlation with age section of the table all the way to the right: A low P value indicates the finding is real, marked with a + sign):
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/543feca66da811b449137795-707-549/screen shot 2014-10-16 at 11.09.19 am.png" border="0" alt="NYC subway rat virus chart"><a href="http://mbio.asm.org/content/5/5/e01933-14.full.pdf">Firth et al/mBio</a></img></div></div></div>
Among the plethora of viral species they found in the creepy critters, a few stood out, including a new species related to the hepatitis C virus, and Seoul hantavirus, which causes hemorrhagic fever - a dangerous disease that causes excessive bleeding - which had never been found in New York before.
While the hepatitis virus probably isn't good for the rats, it's discovery is useful to <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword>, as it could be used as an animal model to test new treatments. They also found a new virus related to enterovirus, which <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/enterovirus-68-has-spread-to-new-york-and-new-jersey-2014-9">recently infected hundreds of children across the US</a>.
No one knows how many rats there are in NYC's subways, but Rick Ostfeld of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y. told Bloomberg Businessweek that he suspects <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-10-30/nyc-rats-stronger-than-sandy" target="_blank">that there are as many rats as there are people</a> in the city.
Of the 113 rats the researchers analyzed, about 90% were found to carry some type of microbial agent. About 40% of the rats carried more than 2 viruses, and nearly 10% of the rats carried a whopping 5 viruses.
While the novel viruses the researchers identified have not been detected in humans, the authors wrote in the study, <a href="http://mbio.asm.org/content/5/5/e01933-14" target="_blank">published Oct 14 in the journal mBio</a>: 
Many rodent-borne pathogens cause only mild or undifferentiated [i.e. difficult to distinguish from other illnesses] disease in healthy people, and these illnesses are often misdiagnosed and underreported. It is therefore possible that human infection with some of the agents identified here may already be occurring, and the risk of future zoonotic transmission should not be disregarded. Future work should build on the results of this study amd begin to assess the impact of the agents identified here on human health in NYC through continued pathogen surveillance and disease monitoring programs.
In any event, it turns out the subway platform is a lot more crowded than we realized. One silver lining: the researchers did not find the Bubonic plague. So there's that.

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