H5N1

In case it's of any interest, it looks like the two recent really wicked cases (Canada and Louisiana) of bird flu (H5N1) were both of the same genotype (D1.1), which is not the one (B3.13) that's been popping up in dairy cattle and/or poultry farms. D1.1 seems to be coming from wild birds. Not sure which of the two is the one that kills domestic cats - apparently several died from drinking infected milk (so probably B3.13), but others apparently got it from some sort of meat. Since outdoor cats are prone to hunting birds, one has to wonder.  I believe if I had an outdoor cat I'd be training it to be an indoor one, immediately.

But for those bored and needing something to read - here's a list of recent cases.  https://bnonews.com/index.php/human-cases-of-h5n1-bird-flu/

Makes one wonder if catching the milder dairy-cow variety might protect a bit from the nastier D1.1....?  Whatever. It'll play out as it plays out. We already have bleach, masks, and hand-sanitizer in the house, should they become necessary ("been there, done that").  Willing to bet a fiver that  governments don't do what should have been done at the start of Covid for this one, as well. Although I think I read that the UK government was ordering flu vaccines like mad. Smart move. Hope it works for whatever mutation finally pops up - I know that they have to be tailored to the specific strain to work. But at least you have that. We're stuck with a guy incoming who recommended horse de-wormer for Covid who wants to put an anti-vax guy in charge of...., no, not going there. Will just get heartburn from it. Not much hope there.


EDIT:  So they may have found what killed the cats who were indoor-only who hadn't been given infected raw milk . https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/25/us/bird-flu-pet-food-voluntary-recall/index.html

Oh, flipping F**k. While we don't need this to be moving ever, we REALLY don't need this to be moving into general circulation right now. [What the heck? The Orange One is still having his press secretary blame the Biden administration for culling infected poultry flocks as the reason for the current high cost of eggs. So, like it would have been better to let the virus run rampant and mutate, but have cheap omlettes?  God forbid they immunize the flocks, but since vaccines cost money, and since some countries will not allow importation of vaccinated poultry (or their remains), the producers took a gamble and lost. Now they are shredding and landfilling millions of birds, and the Orange administration is BSing it the way they did Covid. "Once burned, shame on you. Twice burned, shame on me!"]


USDA milk testing shows different strain of H5N1 bird flu in Nevada dairy herds. Not previously detected in cows, the strain has circulated in wild birds and led to a fatal infection in Louisiana last month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that four dairy herds in Nevada recently determined to be infected with H5N1 bird flu were in fact infected with a different strain of the virus than has been circulating in cows for the past year.
The discovery, experts said, make it clear driving this virus out of cows will be harder than the USDA has estimated. The version in the Nevada herds is one that has been circulating in wild birds. It is also the version behind the severe infection of a teenager in British Columbia, Canada, last year, and a fatal infection in Louisiana last month.

[snip]

The version of the virus that has been circulating in cows has been clade 2.3.4.4b genotype B3.13. The version found in the Nevada cows was genotype D1.1.

https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/05/usda-nevada-herds-different-bird-flu-strain-milk-testing/



See also

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2416323


See also (6 Feb)  https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/05/nx-s1-5286265/bird-flu-cow-cattle-nevada

C.D.C. Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People

The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday, confirmed transmission in two households. Scientists called on the agency to release the full report.

By Apoorva Mandavilli and Emily Anthes
Feb. 6, 2025

Cats that became infected with bird flu might have spread the virus to humans in the same household and vice versa, according to data that briefly appeared online in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but then abruptly vanished. The data appear to have been mistakenly posted but includes crucial information about the risks of bird flu to people and pets. In one household, an infected cat might have spread the virus to another cat and to a human adolescent, according to a copy of the data table obtained by The New York Times. The cat died four days after symptoms began. In a second household, an infected dairy farmworker appears to have been the first to show symptoms, and a cat then became ill two days later and died on the third day.

[snip]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/health/cdc-bird-flu-cats-people.html

A woman in Wyoming has been hospitalized with #H5N1 #birdflu, WY's health dept announced Friday. Likely exposure was to backyard poultry. Wyoming said #CDC confirmed the infection, though CDC did not add it to its H5 page today. Not clear if this is B3.13 or D1.1.


https://health.wyo.gov/wyomings-first-human-bird-flu-case-confirmed/

[NOTE: Later confirmed as D1.1]