Scientists are raising the alarm over a potential new pandemic virus that could be emerging in California.
This week, officials reported the first outbreak of a rare but deadly H5N9 strain of bird flu on a duck farm in Merced County, just outside the Bay Area.
But tests showed that the birds had also been infected with H5N1, the strain of bird flu currently decimating dairy farms, which led to California declaring a state of emergency.
Scientists warned that this suggested the two viruses may have infected the same cell and swapped DNA — in a process known as reassortment — which virologists fear could create a new super virus that is better able to infect and spread between humans.
These fears come amid a communications ‘blackout’ at America’s health agencies — the NIH, CDC and FDA — ordered by the new Trump Administration that is looking to overhaul the agencies.
Some doctors have warned this leaves the US susceptible to the emergence of deadly viruses as the agencies are unable to raise the alarm.
The warning over the duck farm in California was revealed in a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health, which is based in Paris.
Dr Angela Rasmussen, a virologist in Canada, warned: ‘It does suggest there’s enough [H5N1] virus around that reassortment might become more frequent. With enough H5 in these animals and enough seasonal flu in humans, you get them together, and you have a recipe for a potential pandemic virus.’
The infections with H5N9 and H5N1 were detected on a duck farm in California (stock image)
She warned that because ducks only suffer a mild illness from bird flu, and continue to fly, eat and mingle while infected, it raised the risk that they could pick up other viruses while infected.
The cases on the California duck farm were detected in late November, with the facility quarantined and all 120,000 birds on the farm killed.
Testing in January later revealed that the ducks had been infected with two types of bird flu.
There is no evidence at this time that it has spread to other farms.
The case, nonetheless, raises fears over a new virus emerging that could be better able to infect and spread between humans.
Dr Rasmussen made her comments to the Washington Post, and added on X: ‘This is an avian reassortment and unlikely to threaten us, but it kills birds.
‘The more H5 is around in the more hosts, the greater the risk of a reassortment that does threaten us.’
Dr Peter Hotez, a virologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas who urged people to mask up during the Covid pandemic, said on X: ‘It suggests to me that there’s a lot of H5N1 around, making recombination events more likely.
‘Although some flu experts I’ve spoken to feel that some types of reassortments are more likely than others: So it’s not clear what this would mean for an H5N1 and seasonal human flu?’
On Friday last week, the Trump administration was revealed to have ordered a communications ‘blackout’ at the major federal health agencies.
They were told to pause all external communications, including publishing scientific reports, updating websites and issuing health advisories.
The directive came without warning, insiders warned, with little guidance as to how long it would last.
The above map shows where cases of bird flu have been detected in humans. California and Washington state have detected the most cases
The above map also shows where H5 has been detected in wastewater, with California having a concentration of infections
The above shows a map of cattle farms that have reported infections with H5N1
The health agencies play a vital role in gathering and sharing critical information with the public, including on outbreaks of infectious diseases, raising the alarm over foodborne diseases and food recalls.
The US has been battling an outbreak of bird flu for more than a year, which has led to the deaths of millions of wild and domestic birds — and spread to more than 900 cattle herds.
A total of 67 people have been infected so far, including one person in Louisiana who died following their infection.
California has recorded the majority of cases in humans, with 68 infections so far — mostly among farm workers who suffered symptoms like conjunctivitis, or red eye. The state is also recording H5 viruses in its wastewater.
The virus is also causing a major outbreak in the animal world, and among cattle — with more than 700 dairy herds now reported to have been infected across the US.
The infections have already led to the culling of nearly 40million laying hens in the US, driving up the price of eggs — which are expected to jump 25 percent in the first few months of this year.
There are also concerns that the spread of the virus in dairy herds may later lead to cattle being culled, which would also drive up the price of milk.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
