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Showing posts from June 25, 2025

Highly Pathogenic Avian #Influenza A(#H5N1) Virus: How Far Are We from a New #Pandemic?

Simple Summary The present commentary deals with the pandemic risk brought about by the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus . Such a pandemic alarm is justified, among others, by the progressively and rapidly expanding range of virus-susceptible hosts , including humans alongside a significant number of domestic and wild avian and mammalian species , several of which appear to be geographically and phylogenetically distant from each other. Despite its well-established zoonotic potential , no clear-cut evidence of a sustained and efficient HPAI A(H5N1) virus interhuman transmission has thus far been reported. Should this happen in a more or less near future, it could pave the way for a new pandemic. Based upon the above, a “ One Health, One Earth, One Ocean ”-focused, holistic approach would be the necessary prerequisite to deal in an appropriate way with the HPAI A(H5N1) virus-associated zoonotic and pandemic risk. Abstract The focus of this commentary is represented...

#Denmark - #Influenza A #H5N1 viruses of high pathogenicity (Inf. with) (non-poultry including wild birds) (2017-) - Immediate notification

Credit: Wikipedia. By Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden - Larus canus 2203, CC BY 2.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49877446 ___ On the 16th of January 2025, a herring gull was found dead near a wildlife care station. The gull was received at National Reference Laboratory on the 13th of May 2025, and samples from the bird tested positive for HPAI H5N1 on the 20th of June 2025. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6574 ____

Metabolomic Profiling of #Plasma Reveals Differential #Disease Severity #Markers in avian #influenza A(#H7N9) infection Patients

Highlights •  The characteristics of plasma metabolome in H7N9 patients were first revealed. •  It was discovered that lipid-like molecules were downregulated in death group. •  Metabolites of the tryptophan metabolic pathway were elevated in death group. •  The metabolite-based machine learning achieved an AUC of 0.929 on the test set. Abstract Objectives Avian influenza such as H7N9 is currently a major global public health risk, and at present, there is a lack of relevant diagnostic and treatment markers. Methods We collected plasma samples from 104 confirmed H7N9 patients , 31 of whom died. Plasma metabolites were detected by UHPLC-HRMS, and a survival prediction model based on metabolites was constructed by machine learning models. Results A total of 1536 metabolites were identified in the plasma samples of H7N9 patients, of which 64 metabolites were up-regulated and 35 metabolites were down-regulated in the death group. The enrichment analysis of Tryptophan met...

Infectome analysis of #bat #kidneys from #Yunnan province, #China, reveals novel #henipaviruses related to #Hendra and #Nipah viruses and prevalent bacterial and eukaryotic microbes

Abstract Bats are natural reservoirs for a wide range of microorganisms, including many notable zoonotic pathogens. However, the composition of the infectome (i.e., the collection of viral, bacterial and eukaryotic microorganisms) within bat kidneys remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we performed meta-transcriptomic sequencing on kidney tissues from 142 bats , spanning ten species sampled at five locations in Yunnan province, China . This analysis identified 22 viral species , including 20 novel viruses , two of which represented newly discovered henipaviruses closely related to the highly pathogenic Hendra and Nipah viruses . These henipaviruses were found in the kidneys of bats inhabiting an orchard near villages, raising concerns about potential fruit contamination via bat urine and transmission risks to livestock or humans. Additionally, we identified a novel protozoan parasite, tentatively named Klossiella yunnanensis , along with two highly abundant bacterial species...