[url]https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/internet-communication/avian-flu-diary/967212-eurosurveillance-hpai-a-h5n1-virus-infection-in-farmed-minks-spain-october-2022[/url] or https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/internet-communication/avian-flu-diary/967212-eurosurveillance-hpai-a-h5n1-virus-infection-in-farmed-minks-spain-october-2022 - https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/internet-communication/avian-flu-diary/967212-eurosurveillance-hpai-a-h5n1-virus-infection-in-farmed-minks-spain-october-2022 ; Discussion We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI H5N1 virus infection of minks farmed for their fur in Europe. The viruses identified presented the highest similarity with strains of the A/gull/France/22P015977/2022-like genotype, which has already been described in multiple wild bird species and sporadically in poultry across northern Europe [ https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.3.2300001#r6" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(35, 121, 181); text-decoration: none; - ]. However, the viruses detected at the mink farm are distinguished from all the clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses characterised thus far in the avian population in Europe as they bear an uncommon mutation (T271A) in the PB2 gene, which may have public health implications.
Indeed, the same mutation is present in the avian-like PB2 gene of the 2009 pandemic swine-origin influenza A(H1N1) virus (H1N1pdm). Zhang et al. [ https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.3.2300001#r9" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(35, 121, 181); text-decoration: none; - ] demonstrated that mutations to the avian virus-conserved residue (threonine, T) reduced polymerase activity and abolished the H1N1pdm virus respiratory droplet transmission in guinea pigs. Furthermore, this study shows that amino acid 271A of PB2 plays a key role in virus acquisition of the mutation at position 226 of HA that confers human receptor recognition. As T271A is an uncommon amino acid change not previously identified among European HPAI H5 viruses in 2020–22, with the exception of a single H5N1 virus from a mammalian host (European polecat), this mutation could have arisen de novo in minks. However, the data available are not sufficient to exclude the possibility of an unobserved circulation of avian viruses bearing this substitution in the avian population.
Our findings also indicate that an onward transmission of the virus to other minks may have taken place in the affected farm. This is suggested by the increasing number of infected animals identified after the confirmation of the disease and the progression of the infection from the initially affected area to the entire holding. Additional experimental studies are ongoing to further explore virulence and transmissibility of these viruses.
and [url]https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/01/eurosurveillance-hpai-ah5n1-virus.html[/url] or https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/01/eurosurveillance-hpai-ah5n1-virus.html - https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2023/01/eurosurveillance-hpai-ah5n1-virus.html ; When H5N1 was reported in the Mink farm last October, there had only been 3 known human infections with the 2.3.4.4b clade of the virus (1 UK, 1 US, 1 in Spain), and all had been either very mild or asymptomatic. Since then, we've learned of three severe cases, including 1 fatality, which raises the stakes considerably.
Today the journal Eurosurveillance provides a detailed report on the outbreak in mink, including the detection of rare mutation (T271A), which `enhances the polymerase activity of influenza A viruses in mammalian host cells and mice'. DJ...so how likely is it H5N1 -already found to be spreading in minks-may reach mice, rats ? [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_5[/url] or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_5 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_5 ; Cluster 5 is a designation used by the Danish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statens_Serum_Institut" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" title="Statens Serum Institut - Statens Serum Institut for a virus variant described by the institute in autumn 2020, in connection with investigations of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS-CoV-2" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" title="SARS-CoV-2 - SARS-CoV-2 infection among https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mink" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" title="Mink - mink and humans in the north of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jutland" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" title="Jutland - Jutland , Denmark. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_5#cite_note-SSI_05112020-1" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); background: none; - [1] DJ, In several countries CoViD may have spread from minks into humans...Some countries (finally) stopped mink-fur-farming...however lots of other countries still allow mink-farms.... Since there are lots of respitory diseases spreading I think it is very likely more H5N1 human flu cases may be around. So far most of those cases were mild...But even severe cases could be misdiagnosed if the patient also is testing positive for another infectious disease (flu, RS-virus, CoViD etc...lots of it around).... A main reason for NOT finding more cases may be in the fact we are not looking for them....Denial as a strategy is a bad choice !
------------- We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~Albert Einstein
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