Thread by @ejustin46

A NEW STRAIN of H5N1 FROM COWS has INFECTED some FARM WORKERS, and CAN SPREAD between MAMMALS, with AIRBORNE spread in ferrets, and is DEADLY in ANIMAL tests.

Thanks @DavidJoffe64
nature.com/articles/s4158…

2) The study looked at a strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus that was passed from sick dairy cows to a farm worker. Even though the worker only had mild symptoms, the virus was found to be very dangerous in animal experiments.

3) Key findings:
- The virus could grow well in human lung cells, suggesting it could spread easily through the air. But it didn't grow as well in eye cells.
- The virus caused rapid / deadly infections when tested in mice and ferrets. All the ferrets infected with the virus died

4) - Remarkably, the virus was able to spread between ferrets through the air 17-33% of the time. This was more efficient than a previous cow virus strain.
- A specific mutation in the virus's genes (PB2-E627K) likely made it better at infecting mammals like humans.

5) - Another mutation (PB2-M631L) also helped the virus grow better in human cells.
- Importantly, the cow flu viruses were still sensitive to certain antiviral drugs, offering potential treatment options.

6) The study shows the pandemic risk from flu viruses that jump from livestock to humans. It highlights the need for close monitoring and control of these outbreaks.

Thanks for reading 🙏