A strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus found in a Texas dairy worker who became infected this spring could spread through the air between ferrets — albeit inefficiently — and killed 100% of infected animals in studies that University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers conducted with the strain earlier this year.
The good news: The dairy worker experienced only mild symptoms and recovered fully, and the H5N1 strain he was infected with doesn’t appear to be spreading further in the wild.
Still, the findings underscore the dangers posed by a virus that continues to spread among dairy cows and occasionally among farmworkers. The study’s lead scientist said he was surprised by how easily this particular strain could kill ferrets.
“This is one of the most pathogenic viruses I have ever seen in ferrets,” says Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a professor of pathobiology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison who led the work, described Oct. 28, 2024, in the journal Nature.
Ferrets are often used as model animals to study how influenza viruses that primarily infect birds can adapt to mammals. Kawaoka and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin in Madison’s Influenza Research Institute are studying this topic because such a jump could trigger an influenza pandemic.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08254-7
