{"id":3655,"date":"2025-02-03T10:59:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/could-the-bird-flu-become-airborne\/"},"modified":"2025-02-03T10:59:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T10:59:20","slug":"could-the-bird-flu-become-airborne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.itshrt.com\/worldnews\/could-the-bird-flu-become-airborne\/","title":{"rendered":"Could the Bird Flu Become Airborne?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In early February 2020, China <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/02\/06\/world\/asia\/coronavirus-china-wuhan-quarantine.html?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">locked down<\/a> more than 50 million people, hoping to hinder the spread of a new coronavirus. No one knew at the time exactly how it was spreading, but Lidia Morawska, an expert on air quality at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, did not like the clues she managed to find.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It looked to her as if the coronavirus was spreading through the air, ferried by wafting droplets exhaled by the infected. If that were true, then standard measures such as disinfecting surfaces and staying a few feet away from people with symptoms would not be enough to avoid infection.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Morawska and her colleague, Junji Cao at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, drafted a dire warning. Ignoring the airborne spread of the virus, they wrote, would lead to many more infections. But when the scientists sent their commentary to medical journals, they were rejected over and over again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNo one would listen,\u201d Dr. Morawska said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It took more than two years for the World Health Organization to officially acknowledge that Covid spread through the air. Now, five years after Dr. Morawska started sounding the alarm, scientists are paying more attention to how <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/ina.12937\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">other diseases<\/a> may also spread through the air. At the top of their list is the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/27\/health\/bird-flu-h5n1.html\" title=\"\">bird flu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last year, the Centers for Disease Control recorded <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/bird-flu\/php\/avian-flu-summary\/chart-epi-curve-ah5n1.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">66 people<\/a> in the United States who were infected by a strain of avian influenza called H5N1. Some of them most likely got sick by handling virus-laden birds. In March, the Department of Agriculture discovered cows that were also infected with H5N1, and that the animals could pass the virus to people \u2014 possibly through droplets splashed from <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/05\/science\/bird-flu-milk-dairy-h5n1.html\" title=\"\">milking machinery<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If the bird flu gains the ability to spread from person to person, it could produce the next pandemic. So some flu experts are anxiously tracking changes that could make the virus <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1999-4915\/16\/6\/883\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">airborne<\/a>, drifting in tiny droplets through hospitals, restaurants and other shared spaces, where its next victims could inhale it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHaving that evidence is really important ahead of time, so that we don\u2019t wind up in the same situation when Covid emerged, where everyone was scrambling to figure out how the virus was transmitted,\u201d said Kristen K. Coleman, an infectious-disease expert at the University of Maryland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scientists have been arguing over how influenza viruses spread for over a century. In 1918, a strain of influenza called H1N1 swept the world and killed over 50 million people. Some American cities treated it as an airborne disease, requiring masks in public and opening windows in schools. But many public health experts <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1918\/09\/14\/archives\/takes-steps-to-stop-influenza-spread-surgeon-general-blue-says-it.html?smid=url-share\" title=\"\">remained convinced<\/a> that influenza was spread largely by direct contact, such as touching a contaminated door knob, or getting sneezed or coughed on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">H5N1 first came to light <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.cdc.gov\/www_cdc_gov\/flu\/avianflu\/communication-resources\/bird-flu-origin-infographic.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">in 1996<\/a>, when it was detected in wild birds in China. The virus infected their digestive tracts and spread through their feces. Over the years, the virus spread to millions of chickens and other farmed birds. Hundreds of people also became sick, mostly from handling sick animals. Those victims developed H5N1 infections in their lungs that often proved fatal. But the virus could not move readily from one person to another.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The threat of an H5N1 spillover into human populations prompted scientists to look closely at how influenza viruses spread. In one experiment, Sander Herfst, a virologist at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and his colleagues tested whether H5N1 could spread between ferrets in cages placed four inches apart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe animals can\u2019t touch each other, they can\u2019t lick each other,\u201d Dr. Herfst said. \u201cSo the only way for transmission to happen is via the air.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When Dr. Herfst and his colleagues squirted H5N1 viruses in the nostrils of ferrets, they developed lung infections. They did not spread the viruses to healthy ferrets in other cages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Dr. Herfst and his colleagues <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/06\/26\/science\/the-evolution-of-bird-flu-and-the-race-to-keep-up.html\" title=\"\">discovered that a few mutations<\/a> allowed H5N1 to become airborne. Genetically modified viruses that carried those mutations spread from one cage to another in three out of four trials, making healthy ferrets sick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When the scientists shared these results in 2012, an <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/01\/21\/science\/scientists-to-pause-research-on-deadly-strain-of-bird-flu.html\" title=\"\">intense debate<\/a> broke out about whether scientists should intentionally try to produce viruses that might start a new pandemic. Nevertheless, other scientists followed up on the research to figure out how those mutations allowed influenza to spread through the air.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some research has suggested that the viruses become more stable, so they can endure a trip through the air <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2021\/12\/01\/science\/coronavirus-aerosol-simulation.html\" title=\"\">inside a droplet<\/a>. When another mammal inhales the droplet, certain mutations allow the viruses to latch on to the cells in the animal\u2019s upper airway. And still other mutations may allow the virus to thrive in the airway\u2019s cool temperature, making lots of new viruses that can then be exhaled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Tracking the flu among humans proved harder, despite the fact that roughly a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/influenza-(seasonal)\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">billion people<\/a> get seasonal influenza every year. But some studies have pointed to airborne transmission. In 2018, researchers recruited college students sick with the flu and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/full\/10.1073\/pnas.1716561115?doi=10.1073%2Fpnas.1716561115\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">had them breathe into<\/a> a horn-shaped air sampler. Thirty-nine percent of the small droplets they exhaled carried viable influenza viruses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite these findings, exactly how influenza spreads through the air is still unclear. Scientists cannot offer a precise figure for the percentage of flu cases caused by airborne spread versus a contaminated surface like a doorknob.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cVery basic knowledge is indeed missing,\u201d Dr. Herfst said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During last year\u2019s flu season, Dr. Coleman and her colleagues brought people sick with the flu to a hotel in Baltimore. The sick volunteers spent time in a room with healthy people, playing games and talking together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Coleman and her colleagues collected influenza viruses floating around the room. But none of the uninfected volunteers got sick, so the scientists couldn\u2019t compare how often influenza infects people through the air as opposed to in short-range coughs or on virus-smeared surfaces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s hard to mimic real life,\u201d Dr. Coleman said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While Dr. Coleman and her colleagues keep trying to pin down the spread of influenza, the bird flu is infecting more and more animals across the United States. Even <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/11\/health\/bird-flu-h5n1-cats.html\" title=\"\">cats<\/a> are getting infected, possibly by drinking raw milk or <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/23\/health\/bird-flu-cats-food.html\" title=\"\">eating raw pet food<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some influenza experts are concerned that H5N1 is gaining some of the mutations required to go airborne. A virus isolated from a dairy worker in Texas had a mutation that may speed up its replication in airways, for example. When Dr. Herfst and his colleagues <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC11726459\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">sprayed<\/a> ferrets with airborne droplets carrying the Texas virus, 30 percent of the animals developed infections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cLabs in the United States and all over the world are on the lookout to see if those viruses are getting closer to some something that could be very dangerous for humans,\u201d Dr. Herfst said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It would be impossible to predict when \u2014 or even if \u2014 the bird flu viruses will gain the additional mutations necessary to spread swiftly from person to person, said Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Emory University. But with the virus running rampant on farms and so many people getting infected, the odds of airborne evolution are growing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWhat\u2019s shocking to me is we\u2019re letting nature do this experiment,\u201d Dr. Lakdawala said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- ItShrt World News -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6606220950177433\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"1882483372\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/03\/science\/bird-flu-airborne-covid.html\">Source link 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