A Louisiana patient who was hospitalized acute bird flu was found to have a mutated form of the virus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced last week.
The fact that the virus has mutated inside the patient suggests that it can which can spread from person to person.
The CDC analyzed samples of the H5N1 virus collected from the patient, comparing its genomic sequence to that of infected dairy cattle, wild birds, chickens and other animals, the agency said.
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“The analysis showed few changes in the hemagglutinin of the sample processed from the patient, which was not detected by sequencing the virus from the chicken samples collected from the patient's property, suggesting that the changes occurred in the patient after infection,” the CDC said.
A patient in Louisiana who was hospitalized with severe bird flu has tested positive for a mutated strain of the virus, the CDC announced. (iStock)
“Although these mild mutations are usually rare in humans, they have been reported in previous cases of A(H5N1) in other countries and often during severe disease.”
Based on the discovery of these genetic changes in the virus, health officials recommend conducting “continuous genomic studies” in humans and animals, to take measures to contain chest infections among dairy cattle and poultry, and to take measures to prevent infection when exposed to infected animals or environments.
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The CDC maintains that the risk to the general public remains low.
“Similar changes were not present in the genome of the virus taken from the background birds that probably infected humans,” said Samuel Scarpino, director of AI and life sciences and professor of life sciences at the University of Northeastern is in Boston, Fox News Digital confirmed.
The CDC analyzed samples of the H5N1 virus collected from the patient, comparing its genomic sequence to that of infected dairy cattle, wild birds, chickens and other animals. (iStock)
“Because the changes were there in the human patient, but not birds in the backgroundthis suggests that the genetic changes occurred while the person was infected.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital, sharing his thoughts on the importance of the discovery.
“Each human infection represents a wheel of the epidemic roulette.”
“It's almost certain that the H5N1 bird flu virus found in the Louisiana patient showed a mutation that allowed it to enter the upper airway in this patient, but this mutation has been seen before,” he said. told Fox News Digital.
The good news, the doctor noted, is that there have been no reports of Louisiana patient transmitting the virus to other people.
“It is important that it is monitored among domestic chickens and large dairy cows,” Dr. Marc Siegel told Fox News Digital. (Photo by Uli Deck/image credit via Getty Images)
“We know the changes we need to be aware of in terms of the potential for human transmission” based on previous research, Siegel said.
He added: “It is important to monitor domestic chickens and dairy cows.
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Scarpino acknowledged that while the changes are “relevant,” they “probably don't represent an additional risk to the public.”
“Similar events—changes that occur during exposure that increase the risk to humans—occurred in a person who was H5N1 infection from Canadian wild birds and have occurred several times during previous H5N1 outbreaks outside the US and Canada,” he told Fox News Digital.
The more chances a virus has to infect people, the more likely it is that similar mutations will occur and create a “chain of transmission” in humans, one expert has warned. (iStock)
“So far, it does not appear that the person in Louisiana has transmitted the infection to other people.”
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The doctor warned, however, that the more likely the virus is to infect people, the more likely it is that similar mutations will occur and create a “transmission chain” in humans.
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“Each human infection represents a wheel of the epidemic roulette,” Scarpino said.
“We need to take drastic measures to eliminate the H5N1 infection in agricultural population and to better understand why so many wild birds continue to be infected.”