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A strain of bird flu never seen before in the United States has been detected among poultry at a California farm .
The computer virus , call extremely morbific H5N9 , is a eccentric of avian grippe , otherwise known as " doll grippe . " This is not the same type of fowl flu that ’s already been spreading on dairy cow and domestic fowl farm in the U.S. , cause at least several twelve infections in humans . That virus is called H5N1 .
A highly pathogenic new strain of H5N9 has been detected in ducks at a farm in California.
So what is H5N9 ? How does it take issue from H5N1 , and should we be equally implicated about it ?
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What is H5N9?
H5N9 is a highly infective avian flu ( or bird flu ) virus that bears some structural law of similarity to H5N1 .
" crushed morbific " H5N9 viruses have previously been detected in bird in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world , dating back to the 1960s . However , these infections are usuallyassociated with less - severe symptomsthan " highly morbific " strains are . This is the first time highly pathogenic H5N9 has been figure in the U.S. , and these mortal strain arealso moderately uncommon worldwide .
How did H5N9 emerge?
Newsubtypes and strains of flu can emergeif viruses find fault up random transmissible mutation as they multiply , as well as if multiple computer virus swap genic entropy with one another . This latter process is known asgenetic reassortment , and it ordinarily happens when an organism is infected with at least two different viruses at the same time .
Some expert suspect that H5N9 may have emerge among the ducks in California due to genetic reassortment occurring between circulating H5N1 virus and other flu virus containing the N9 protein . ( " H5 " and " N9 " are two proteins find on the control surface of the computer virus that give the razz flu subtype its name . )
H5N1 was also detected in the fowl at the farm , so this could be plausible , according to aJan . 24 reportfrom the World Organisation for Animal Health ( WOAH ) , which supervise disease outbreaks in animals worldwide .
Various subtypes of avian influenza are known to infect humans, including H5N1 and H5N4.
Such reassortment can lead to " unpredictable unexampled viruses,“Angela Rasmussen , a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada , wrote on X.
She supply that ducks may be great boniface animals for genetic reassortment to take position because , unlike chickens , they do n’t get very sickish from many avian flu virus . Therefore , while an infected chicken would apace break down , duck can survive and continue to spread the disease to new hosts .
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The CDC currently still says that the public health risk from H5 bird flu is low but that people who work directly with animals that can become infected face a higher risk.
What’s happening at the farm where H5N9 was detected?
In the Jan. 24 paper , the WOAH denote that H5N9 had been identified at a duck farm in Merced County , California . The current outbreak , which the report says was confirmed on Jan. 13 , is being closely monitored by functionary .
" The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ( APHIS ) , in coincidence with State Animal Health and Wildlife Officials , are conducting comprehensive epidemiologic investigations and enhanced surveillance in reply to the HPAI [ extremely infective avian grippe ] relate events , " the WOAH wrote in the report .
To prevent further spread of the infection , all of the well-nigh 119,000 birds at the farm have now been culled . These bird flu viruses are know as " extremely pathogenic " because they areextremely pestilent to certain poultry — like chickens — and culling an unwrap wad is typically view the best way of preclude extra heap from getting disgusted .
Why is bird flu concerning?
Scientists have recently expressedincreasing concernthat a strain of bird flu could mutate into a contour that easily distribute among humans , sparking apandemic . This happened during historic pandemics , such as the " Spanish grippe " in 1918 and the " Asian flu " in 1957 .
world can become infected with avian grippe if the virusgets into their eye , olfactory organ or mouth , or if it is inhaledin the form of droplets in the air . However , not all bird influenza virus are equipped to efficiently taint multitude and then circularise between them . When throw more chances to spread to unexampled animals , the viruses have a high-pitched fortune of picking up that ability and harming man .
Notably , over the retiring twosome of old age , H5N1 has spread out to new country , including the U.S.It ’s been widely infecting wild boo and fowl and has also jumped into various mammals , including cattleanddomestic cats . Since its discovery , H5N1 has infected more than900 people globally , and in the preceding class , at least67 people in the U.S.have been infect . In December 2024 , a fair sex in Louisiana becamethe first someone in the U.S. to die as a result of an H5N1 infection .
Related : Bird flu could become deadly if it mixes with seasonal influenza virus , experts monish
How does H5N9 differ from H5N1?
Avian influenza viruses come in unlike subtypes , which are named according to pernicious edition in the anatomical structure oftwo key protein on the surfaceof the virus : hemagglutinin ( H ) and neuraminidase ( N ) . So H5N9 and H5N1 have the same hemagglutinin protein , but a different neuraminidase protein .
A virus ’s specific combination of H and N proteinsdetermines a range of important traits , such as how well it is at spreading from one animal to another , how deadly it is , and whether it is resistant to antiviral treatment .
Besides the deviation in their neuraminidase protein , H5N9 take issue from H5N1 in several other room .
For exercise , H5N1 infectionsare more commonamong humans and are believe to be thedeadliest of all the highly pathogenic avian grippe extend in humans and chicken .
Does H5N9 pose a risk to humans?
As of yet , little is recognize about whether H5N9 could circulate to humans and potentially cause a pandemic .
On its website , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) presently states that thepublic wellness jeopardy from H5 bird flu is " low"but that the government agency is " watching the position carefully and working with states to monitor people with animate being exposures . " The CDC ’s primary focal point on that web page is H5N1 , but the agency is monitoring H5 viruses broadly , using its flu surveillance systems to watch for any lawsuit in humans .
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As of Jan. 18 , there has been no grounds of H5 bird flu spreading from one human to another in the U.S.
" The combination H5N9 is not raw and other translation , like H5N5 also exist,“Florian Krammer , a professor of vaccinology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York , secernate CBS News . " Just because this was now detected , does n’t intend trouble necessarily , " he accentuate .
This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice .
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