Our thanks to Kilt for bringing this to our attention -

A slight mutation took place causing human to human transmission.  Are we on the cusp of an evolution with H7N9?   Seems only one click away from a pandemic flu.  Hopefully they snuffed this out, but apparently they can also shed the virus for 42 days.

Probable Hospital Cluster of H7N9 Influenza Infection

N Engl J Med 2016; 374:596-598February 11, 2016DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1505359

Avian influenza A (H7N9) virus emerged in eastern China in the spring of 2013,1 with 698 cases and 281 deaths reported as of January 10, 2016.2 Human H7N9 infections appear to be acquired through zoonotic transmission, although clusters of human-to-human household transmission have occurred.3,4 We report here a hospital cluster of H7N9 infections that took place from January to February 2015. This study was approved by the ethics committee at Shantou University Medical College.

A 28-year-old man (index patient), with repeated exposure to live poultry, presented with respiratory infection and was admitted to the respiratory department, where his condition worsened. Laboratory investigation of serum and sputum samples obtained later in the course of illness showed that he was positive for H7N9 by serologic testing and polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) assay. Seven days after admission of the index patient, influenza-like illness developed in a 33-year-old male physician (Doctor 1) who attended the index patient. The acute respiratory distress syndrome later developed in this physician. Four days after the onset of symptoms in Doctor 1, influenza-like illness and bronchial pneumonia developed in a second attending physician (Doctor 2), a 35-year-old man, in the same department (Figure 1AFigure 1Clinical Events and Phylogenetic Analysis of the H7N9 Influenza Cluster.). He too had close contact with the index patient. Although standard infection-control practices, including the wearing of personal protective equipment, are hospital policy when caring for patients with H7N9 infection, the use of these practices by the attending physicians while caring for the index patient could not be verified. No other common epidemiologic link among these three persons was identified, and all are unrelated.

With the use of real-time reverse-transcriptase–PCR assay, seroconversion (hemagglutination-inhibition assay and microneutralization antibody assay), and viral isolation (methods detailed in the Supplementary Appendix, available with the full text of this letter at NEJM.org), H7N9 infection was confirmed in all three persons; they recovered from their illness and were discharged from the hospital (Figure 1A, and Fig. S1, Table S1, Table S2, and case reports in the Supplementary Appendix). Even though the index patient appeared to be convalescent at the time of discharge, he continued to shed H7N9 virus 42 days after the initial onset of symptoms.

Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of viral isolates from the index patient, Doctor 1, Doctor 2, and eight additional, unrelated patients with H7N9 infection who were hospitalized during the 2015 outbreak (Figure 1B, and Table S4 in the Supplementary Appendix) showed that all 11 isolates are genetically closely related; however, the 3 hospital isolates form an independent clade with a bootstrap support of 86% (Figure 1B) and carry two unique nucleotide polymorphisms (HA-A865T and HA-C1275T). We also observed that H7N9 viruses currently isolated in Shantou emerged from a small reassortant group5 that carries distinct segments of PB2 and MP (Figure 1C, and Fig. S2 and Table S5 in the Supplementary Appendix). The three viruses isolated from the index patient, Doctor 1, and Doctor 2 suggest direct human-to-human transmission; although a common community source cannot be ruled out, no such sources were identified. Management of the care of patients with suspected H7N9 infection should include proper infection-control practices.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1505359

AFT - making people lose sleep since 2005...

Also...

Avian influenza in the USA


15 January, 2016

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Friday confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H7N8 avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana. The farm has about 60,000 turkeys and the flock is being euthanized to prevent the disease from spreading.
Indiana is the nation's fourth-largest turkey producer, the third-biggest egg producer, and first in duck production. The state's poultry industry is worth $2.5 billion.


This is another 'previously unknown' version - different then the strain that killed millions of birds in 2015.

http://eden.lsu.edu/Topics/AgDisasters/AvianFlu/CurrentSituation/Pages/default.aspx


2016 Avian Influenza (H7N8) in the U.S.
On This Page
•Current Outbreaks and Resources
•Scientists See Long Term Threat   


January 15, 2016: The United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H7N8 avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana.

This is a different strain of HPAI than the strains that caused the 2015 outbreak. There are no known cases of H7N8 infections in humans.

Yes, food is safe. Always be sure to properly handle any food.
Properly cooked and handled poultry is not a source of infection for avian influenza viruses of any strain. Furthermore, the likelihood of infected poultry entering the U.S. food supply is extremely low due to import restrictions, extensive disease testing, and federal inspection programs. Properly prepared and cooked poultry is safe to eat. Cooking poultry to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. kills the avian influenza virus, as well as other organisms. While most human illnesses have resulted from direct contact with sick or dead birds, a small number have resulted from eating raw poultry or poultry products, so proper cooking is important in areas where avian influenza might be present

HPAI H7N8 Talking Points

Current Outbreaks and Resources
Current Outbreaks - monitored by USDA

USDA APHIS - Avian Influenza page and includes HPAI Response and Preparedness Plan

USDA Avian Influenza - Information and Resources

The United States Animal Health Association Animal Emergency Management Committee makes available these presentations (see listing below resolutions) on lessons learned from the 2015 outbreak of HPAI.

Centers for Disease Control Avian Influenza information page

And H5N6, H10N8, H9N2, H5N8, H7N7....
And H5N1 continues to march relentlessly around the globe infecting domestic poultry and wild birds, spawning yet more clades as it moves. Interesting times.