United States: A new rapid Avian influenza molecular test capable of testing for most current subtypes of H5N1 circulating in cattle and the recent human infections in Colorado is now available to contain bird flu.
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The rapid test is the newest scientific invention against bird flu and is from Alveo Technologies Inc., a company that works in molecular sensing and diagnostics with a proprietary technology.
The test still needs to be out, however today Alveo plans to start distributing an avian flu test for poultry in the current quarter to the EU and the Middle East, as foodsafetynews.com reported.
Concerning cattle and people, Alveo has provided a computer simulation that the test should identify the viruses of the recent Colorado infections. The firm is, however, involved in developing a test for cattle and humans.
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Alveo recently utilized silico methodology to show that its rapid, handheld, point-of-need molecular diagnostic for Avian Influenza can detect the H5N1 variant based on sequences published from recent human infections in Colorado and those diagnosed in cattle.
On July 15th and 16th, GISAID, the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data database, produced the genetic sequence of the H5N1 viruses, which affected one of the dairy farm workers in Colorado.
GISAID observed a “mammalian adaptation marker (E627K) in one of the farm workers.” The authors did not specify how it was transmitted among cattle, but it spelled potential trouble.
Cattle might be hosting a virus adapted to mammals, which could be reinfecting commercial poultry, or selection pressures are constantly pushing the virus towards mammalian adaptation.
In any case, circulating the virus among cattle constantly heightens the chances of the H5N1 virus mutating into a form that will efficiently spread among people.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, whose report released in may stated, “The baseline risk of influenza A(H5N1) evolving to cause human transmission before the current cattle outbreak was previously considered to be a remote chance (0-5 percent),” as foodsafetynews.com reported.
“There is consensus that this risk has now increased. However, with currently limited information, we cannot resolve the risk further, and it may fall at highly unlikely (10-20 percent) or unlikely (25-35 percent),” the agency added.