FAO urges nations to ramp up actions to blunt impact of H5N1 avian flu

In a briefing to member states as we speak, the top of the United Nations Meals and Agriculture Group (FAO) as we speak urged international locations to step up their actions to battle avian flu within the face of an ongoing surge of poultry losses, extra frequent spillovers to mammals, and detrimental results on the meals provide and costs.

In different developments, New York Metropolis well being officers shared extra particulars about their investigation into extreme cat sicknesses from H5N1 avian flu, together with a possible position of contaminated meals and cat-to-cat unfold of the virus. Additionally, two groups of scientists reported new findings concerning the pathogenicity of the cattle H5N1 genotype and antiviral therapy methods.

Main shifts in unfold of H5N1 and its impacts

FAO Deputy Director-Basic Godfrey Magwenzi, MS, stated the unfold of H5N1 is unprecedented, “resulting in critical impacts on meals safety and meals provide in international locations, together with lack of precious vitamin, rural jobs and revenue, shocks to native economies, and naturally rising prices to shoppers.”

The FAO stated the previous 4 years has seen a significant shift in international unfold of H5N1 and its impacts. It added that losses lengthen to massive numbers of untamed birds, which poses a risk to biodiversity, with at the least 300 new species affected by H5N1 since 2021. FAO scientists additionally acknowledged the complicated challenges animal well being staff and farmers face in defending poultry manufacturing whereas defending livelihoods and the meals provide.

Officers urged international locations to take a number of steps, together with elevated surveillance, improved lab capability, enhanced biosecurity practices, strengthened outbreak response, and consideration of a potential position for vaccination.

Uncooked meals, cat-to-cat unfold suspected in NYC cat sicknesses

Following a current announcement on the detection of two H5 avian flu infections in cats from separate households, New York Metropolis Well being Division (NYC Well being) officers on March 15 introduced extra particulars into the investigation, together with that the sicknesses seem like linked to a model of uncooked cat meals and {that a} third sickness in a cat is suspected.

NYC Well being urged shoppers to keep away from feeding their cats meals from the uncooked pet meals firm Savage Cat Meals. Cats from two separate households, and presumably a 3rd, contracted avian flu and have been linked to raw-poultry pet meals from Savage Cat Meals.

Take a look at leads to uncooked rooster meals packets are pending for the primary cat that died from H5N1. Assessments on a second cat that died match the virus present in meals from the identical lot as the primary cat. The second cat, nonetheless, didn’t eat the meals however was uncovered to a sick cat that ate the meals. The cat with the suspected an infection has since recovered and was not examined.

The corporate, based mostly in El Cajon, California, on March 15 voluntarily recalled one lot of its uncooked rooster meals for cats on account of potential H5N1 contamination. The merchandise have been distributed in California, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

Newest US poultry, cattle detections

The US Division of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Well being Inspection Service (APHIS) as we speak confirmed extra H5N1 detections in poultry in 4 states, one involving an outbreak at a business turkey farm in Lawrence County, Illinois, that has 14,500 birds.

In New Jersey, the virus turned up at three live-bird markets and a yard farm. The virus additionally struck a yard flock in Maryland and one other live-bird market in Pennsylvania.

APHIS additionally confirmed another H5N1 detection in dairy cattle, which entails a herd in California, elevating the nationwide whole to 986 throughout 17 states, 755 of them in California.

Research make clear bovine pressure pathogenicity, baloxavir advantages

In new analysis developments, a workforce based mostly on the College of Texas Medical Department, Galveston, in contrast the virus traits of the bovine H5N1 pressure with an older H5N1 pressure collected from a wild chook in Mongolia in 2005. The findings seem in Scientific Reviews.

The investigators performed their experiments utilizing mice and panels of human lung cells. The cattle H5N1 pressure confirmed superior progress and extra speedy replication within the human lung cells. In mice, the bovine pressure confirmed larger pathogenicity, speedy lung pathology, excessive virus titers within the mind, and excessive mortality following problem by way of completely different an infection routes.

“In abstract, this examine demonstrates the profound pathogenicity and suggests a possible innate immune escape mechanism of the H5N1 virus remoted from a dairy cow in Texas,” the authors wrote.

In a second examine, a workforce from St. Jude Youngsters’s Hospital who used a mouse mannequin to evaluate the efficacy of Meals and Drug Administration–authorised antiviral medicine after the animals obtained a deadly intranasal or ocular problem with H5N1-infected milk. The workforce revealed its findings as we speak in Nature Microbiology.

The researchers discovered higher outcomes for baloxavir therapy than for oseltamivir, seeing enhancements with survival and virus dissemination.

They stated the findings assist consideration of baloxavir, along with neuraminidase inhibitors, for the therapy of extreme infections and for pandemic preparedness stockpiling.