2023-09-02 14:26:12
If bird flu can be transmitted to people or to more marine speciesincluding those consumed by humans, and its difference with the influenza virus that caused the pandemic in 2009 These are some of the questions that specialists answered following registering infections in sea lions -the first in mammals in Argentina- with a highly pathogenic variant that reaches almost 100% mortality.
Since mid-August, around 200 specimens of sea lions were found dead en Tierra del Fuego, Santa Cruz, Chubut, Río Negro and in the Buenos Aires towns of Mar del Plata, Necochea, Monte Hermoso, Villa Gesell and Coronel Rosales.
Consulted by the Télam news agency, the veterinarian specialized in avian viruses from the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (WHILE), Ariel Vagnozzi, and the biologist and researcher of the Conicet and the National University of Mar del Plata (Unmdp), diego rodriguezoffered some keys to understand the phenomenon.
What is bird flu?
“It is the name of a highly contagious disease produced by the Influenza A virus. Within this genus of virus there is a great variety of subtypes”, among them the H5N1 registered in sea lions, Vagnozzi specified.
«Only in wild birds have all the variants of Influenza A been found; That is why they are considered to be the great reservoir of the virus and have a very important role in the global spread of the disease,” he added.
– Is it related to the H1N1 subtype virus that caused the pandemic in 2009?
“H1N1 belongs to Influenza A and was responsible for the outbreak in humans. The two viruses are not related, H1N1 originated in pigs”, assured the INTA specialist.
– How did the bird flu reach sea lions in Argentina?
“The virus arrived in South America via migratory birds last year. The first most serious cases occurred earlier this year in Peru, where there was a high mortality of seabirds. The virus mutated and infected sea lions, which also recorded high mortality rates,” Rodríguez explained.
And he continued: “Due to the movement of the animals, the virus went down south and by mid-year there were deaths in southern Chile and a few weeks ago, due to the interaction between the Pacific and Atlantic colonies, it reached Tierra del Fuego and from there up (to the Argentine coast) in a matter of days.”
– What are the symptoms registered by the infected animals?
“Bird flu is a respiratory disease, so of course it causes great difficulty in breathing and a lot of mucus. It also has neurological effects that are seen in disorientation, lack of coordination, and even immobility in infected animals,” explained the Unmdp researcher.
“It is a highly contagious disease and almost 100% fatal. Except in those animals that are very well immunologically and the infection is low, there is no other destination than death, “he added.
– How do these contagions affect the viability of the species?
Regarding sea lions in particular, Rodríguez indicated that the number of deaths of sea lions, which are around 200 in the country, “are not so catastrophic so far, but you have to be on top of it and see the evolution.”
In Peru and Chile the impact “was very strong, with thousands of animals killed, but not on a scale to endanger the viability of the populations,” he said.
– Is there a possibility of transmission of the virus to other species?
«One of the most relevant characteristics of the influenza virus is its evolutionary capacity, which gives it the potential to infect various animal species. It is impossible to make predictions as to how the situation will continue, whether the epidemic in sea lions will last for a long time” or whether the virus will jump to other species, including humans, Vagnozzi said.
However, he emphasized that “transmission from one species to another is not usually frequent and, when this happens, the virus does not always manage to spread in an epidemic manner since it requires adaptation to do so.”
– Given that this adaptation is “easier” the closer the new infected species is genetically, is there a greater risk for humans in the face of recent cases in mammals?
«The possibility of contagion of the Avian Influenza virus to humans is possible but the probability is low. The fact of finding virus infections in mammals in nature may mean that this probability increases. Approaching animals killed by influenza and handling them increases the probability a little more, “warned the veterinarian.
However, he assured that there have already been reports of jumps to mammals (marine, wild and domestic cats, foxes, ferrets and coatis) in the world “without sustained contagion in humans having been documented up to now”, which only presented “a relatively low number of cases” in the world and without person-to-person transmission.
– Can the infection in sea lions jump to marine species that humans consume?
“Regarding fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other fishery products, up to now there have been no recognizable avian influenza infections,” Rodríguez said.
– Could this outbreak impact the summer season in the affected areas?
“The infections in Peru and Chile lasted approximately between a month and a half and two months, we hope that it will be faster here,” said the biologist.
With the precedents in the region, the authorities of the affected areas expect the outbreak to have ended in Argentina by the summer, although it is momentarily “in full swing” and its duration depends on the dynamics of wildlife.
– What are the recommendations for the population of the affected areas?
Since the objective is to “avoid cross-contamination”, the experts agreed to recommend that the population not go to the areas where lifeless or symptomatic sea lions appeared, and especially not to do so with pets to avoid, eventually come into contact with the virus.
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