In a 5 June 2024 article at the University of California Davis, Kat Kerlin reports on a study, published as a preprint and co-led by University of California, Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) in Argentina, which shows clear mammal-to-mammal transmission of H5N1 avian influenza viruses.
It states a massive outbreak among elephant seals in Argentina in 2023 is the first known, multinational transmission of the virus in mammals ever observed globally, with the same virus appearing in several pinniped species across different countries over a short period of time.
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Originally Posted by Kat Kerlin, UC Davis 5 June 2024
“We’re showing the evolution of this marine mammal virus over time,” said virologist and co-leading author Agustina Rimondi of INTA. “This virus is capable of adapting to mammals, as we can see from the mutations that are consistently found in the viruses belonging to the mammalian clade.”
Influenza viruses commonly mutate and exchange gene segments, enabling them to adapt to new hosts.
Uhart and Rimondi said it is critically important that monitoring and investigation continue to better understand the consequences of the virus to human health, wildlife conservation and ecology.
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Story here :-
https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/...apting-mammals