CDC: Bird flu virus that infected Michigan dairy farmer capable of airborne transmission
The strain of bird flu that infected a Michigan dairy farmworker is capable of airborne transmission, amping up concerns about its potential to spark a new pandemic, according to a research letter published in June.
In recent years, the H5N1 avian influenza virus has spilled over from birds to a growing number of mammals, including cats, skunks, raccoons, oppossums, rodents and bears. It was first identified in dairy cows in 2024, and then leaped from cows to humans.
In May 2024, two Michigan dairy farmworkers contracted the virus. The first reported conjuctivitis, also known as pink eye, as the only symptom. The second Michigan farmworker's symptoms were a little bit different. That person reported upper respiratory tract symptoms, including cough without fever, and eye discomfort with watery discharge. Both recovered.
Researchers isolated the virus from a swab used to collect a sample from the eye of one of the infected workers. That virus — clade 2.3.4.4b, genotype B3.13 — was studied to determine how transmissible it is, and the ways it spreads.
"Because avian H5N1 viruses cross the species barrier and adapt to dairy cattle, each associated human infection presents further opportunity for mammal adaption," the study authors wrote in "Emerging Diseases," a peer-reviewed journal of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This potential poses an ongoing threat to public health and requires continual surveillance and risk assessment ... to improve our ability to predict and prepare for the next influenza pandemic."
Scientists infected ferrets with that type of virus. Six of the infected ferrets were put in the same living space as six healthy ferrets, and within a week, all of them had bird flu, showing that direct contact spreads the disease.
Six other healthy ferrets had no direct contact with the infected animals, but were breathing the same air as ferrets with H5N1 bird flu, and inhaled respiratory droplets. Three of those six previously healthy ferrets became infected, the study found, suggesting an airborne infection rate of 50%.
Researchers also collected aerosol samples daily from three infected ferrets, and found evidence of airborne virus particles in samples from all three animals.
More: Michigan farmers call for H5N1 bird flu vaccines to protect flocks, dairy cows from virus
Ferrets have been used for decades in medical research studies, especially those involving flu viruses, because their lung physiology is similar to humans. They also have similar receptors in the respiratory tract that influenza viruses bind to.
All of the infected ferrets survived the 21-day study, researchers said, recovering from moderate disease. On average, ferrets infected with H5N1 bird flu lost nearly 10% of their body weight and had fevers. They were lethargic, and had nasal and ocular discharge along with sneezing.
Since 2022, there have been 70 confirmed and probable human cases of bird flu in the U.S. One person in Louisiana, who was exposed to wild birds and a backyard flock, died. To date, there have been no reports of human-to-human transmission, according to the CDC.
More: Michigan geese, angry owner change protocol for killing flock exposed to bird flu
The CDC says the risk to the average American from bird flu remains low, but it's higher for people who work with animals on farms, at zoos and other animal facilities.
Contact Kristen Shamus at kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Virus that infected Michigan dairy farmer capable of airborne spread
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Researchers suggest other countries would produce bird flu vaccines first. "The U.S. may be on the receiving end like India was, where everyone -- rich people, too -- got vaccines late," said Achal Prabhala, a public health researcher in India at medicines access group AccessIBSA. He sits on the board of a World Health Organization initiative to improve access to mRNA vaccines in the next pandemic. A member of the initiative, the company Sinergium Biotech in Argentina, is testing an mRNA vaccine against the bird flu. If it works, Sinergium will share the intellectual property behind the vaccine with about a dozen other groups in the program from middle-income countries so they can produce it. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, an international partnership headquartered in Norway, is providing funds to research groups developing rapid-response vaccine technology, including mRNA, in South Korea, Singapore and France. And CEPI committed up to $20 million to efforts to prepare for a bird flu pandemic. This year, the Indian government issued a call for grant applications to develop mRNA vaccines for the bird flu, warning it "poses a grave public health risk." Pharmaceutical companies are investing in mRNA vaccines for the bird flu as well. However, Prabhala says private capital isn't sufficient to bring early-stage vaccines through clinical trials and large-scale manufacturing. That's because there's no market for bird flu vaccines until a pandemic hits. Limited supplies means the United States would have to wait in line for mRNA vaccines made abroad. States and cities may compete against one another for deals with outside governments and companies, like they did for medical equipment at the peak of the covid pandemic. "I fear we will once again see the kind of hunger games we saw in 2020," Cameron said. In an email response to queries, HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said, "We concluded that continued investment in Moderna's H5N1 mRNA vaccine was not scientifically or ethically justifiable." He added, "The decision reflects broader concerns about the use of mRNA platforms -- particularly in light of mounting evidence of adverse events associated with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines." Nixon did not back up the claim by citing analyses published in scientific journals. In dozens of published studies, researchers have found that mRNA vaccines against COVID are safe. For example, a placebo-controlled trial of more than 30,000 people in the U.S. found that adverse effects of Moderna's vaccine were rare and transient, whereas 30 participants in the placebo group suffered severe cases of COVID and one died. More recently, a study revealed that three of nearly 20,000 people who got Moderna's vaccines and booster had significant adverse effects related to the vaccine, which resolved within a few months. COVID, on the other hand, killed four people during the course of the study. As for concerns about the heart issue, myocarditis, a study of 2.5 million people who got at least one dose of Pfizer's mRNA vaccine revealed about two cases per 100,000 people. COVID causes 10 to 105 myocarditis cases per 100,000. Nonetheless, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who founded an anti-vaccine organization, has falsely called COVID shots"the deadliest vaccine ever made." And without providing evidence, he said the 1918 flu pandemic "came from vaccine research." Politicized mistrust in vaccines has grown. Far more Republicans said they trust Kennedy to provide reliable information on vaccines than their local health department or the CDC in a recent KFF poll: 73% versus about half. Should the bird flu become a pandemic in the next few years, Rasmussen said, "we will be screwed on multiple levels."
