New mutations help the H5N1 bird flu virus infect cows bu...

What’s Happening

Not gonna lie, The findings show how the H5N1 bird flu virus is evolving in livestock and what that may mean for human health.

News Health & Medicine New mutations help the H5N1 bird flu virus infect cows but not people The mutations target a specific sugar on the surface of cows’ cells H5N1 bird flu viruses have evolved to grasp a sugar found on cattle cells, but not on humans’ or birds’. That could enable the viruses to sp easily between cattle. (we’re not making this up)

Kinga Krzeminska/Moment/ By Tina Hesman Saey 13 hours ago this: via email (Opens in new window) Email on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print H5N1 bird flu viruses have acquired a molecular trick that makes them more easily infect mammary glands in cattle, but this adaptation does not appear to affect humans.

The Details

To infect cells, influenza viruses latch on to certain sugars decorating cell surfaces. Some H5N1 viruses have picked up mutations that allow them to grab one such sugar made by cattle but not birds, researchers report April 6 at bioRxiv.

Specifically, two mutations commonly found in H5N1 viruses infecting dairy cattle now allow the bird flu viruses to grip the sugar N-glycolylneuraminic acid, or NeuGc. Grasping this cattle sugar made it easier for H5N1 bird flu viruses to infect and grow in mammary tissue from cows, the researchers found.

Why This Matters

For our We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. The sugar switch may also make it easier for H5N1 to spread from cow-to-cow through the air and might increase the risk of spillover to other farm animals, such as pigs , sheep and horses, which also make NeuGc, the researchers suggest. Humans and birds lack an enzyme that produces the sugar NeuGc.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

Key Takeaways

• They make acetylneuraminic acid, or NeuAc, instead.
• The H5N1 viruses that grab onto the cattle sugar can latch on to the version found in humans and birds.

The Bottom Line

They make acetylneuraminic acid, or NeuAc, instead. The H5N1 viruses that grab onto the cattle sugar can latch on to the version found in humans and birds.

What’s your take on this whole situation?